Cat's Shadow
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: When Sakura moved to Japan, she never expected to be caught up in the craziness that is Yugi and the gang. Add a 15,000 year old spirit, and an unhealthy dose of general insanity, and the party begins! But why was Mokuba invited to Hogwarts?
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe you were accepted to be a beta and a programmer Aki," said a girl with thick brown hair wearing a headband with cat ears. Eyes moved with planned mischief, dyed red. She was sooo glad she ditched her glasses and bought prescription colored contacts.

"Neither can I. At least now I can sleep in," replied another girl. Her hair was a lighter brown, almost as thick, with glasses and a headband bearing wolf ears.

The two girls were so alike they could be mistaken for sisters. The taller girl's name was Sakura Hikari. Her personality could easily be compared to a cat's, her wild side was often made people think she was nuts. But when she was serious, people would swear she turned into a dragon.

Aki Sohma was slightly shorter, and her hair was frizzy. Her personality was similiar to a wolf's, and she was often more serious than her friend. Her darker side was also comparable to a dragon's, only it rarely left survivors in it's wake.

"Where's the apartment?"

"Three blocks down, and to the left. Remember our deal Sakura."

"Ya, ya. I cook and pick the laundry up, you clean the house. You think I'd forget when I hate cleaning?"

When they reached their new apartment, Sakura immediately claimed the room closest to the outside. Aki shrugged, then hooked up the computers. Sakura hooked up her new laptop in her room, then yelled, "YATTA! We have wireless!"

"NOT SO LOUD!" retorted Aki, annoyed.

A knock is heard at the door. Sakura went and answered it.

"Ano...is everything alright?" asked a strange boy with white hair and brown eyes.

"Hai, hai. Sorry if I startled you. I'm just glad the internet is up. Aki really is a master at getting the tech up. My name is Hikari Sakura. The growler behind me is Aki."

"Bakura Ryou. Do you two live here?"

"Yup. I guess that makes us neighbors."

"I suppose so..." said Ryou with a small laugh.

"So Ryou-kun, do you play games?"

"Hai. I may not look it, but I love Monster World."

"You mean the English equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons? I've played it before, but I rarely had enough friends to really get into it."

"Maybe you and your friend can come by and we can play together?"

"Get three other players and I will!"

* * *

As Sakura was walking down the street, she noticed something. A tall boy with brownish hair was yelling into his phone. She distinctly heard the words "You're fired!"

"What did that person do to you?" she said clearly. The boy turned; it was Seto Kaiba.

"None of your business."

"The way you act reminds me of Donald Trump."

"Who?"

"Donald Trump? Host of Celebrity Apprentice? Multi-millionaire with too much time on his hands?"

"Whatever. If you'll excuse me, I have to look for a new personal assistant."

"Why not hire me? I can type fast, I can easily tell people to back off when your in a meeting, and I know how to file."

Kaiba looked at her and said, "Any addictions I should know about?"

"Manga, anime and fanfiction. I don't see the point of drugs, and I rarely drink. I also know how to play Duel Monsters, though I'm not good at it."

Kaiba thought it over... "You're hired. But if you ever try to betray me..."

"Why would I bother? If I do well, I won't have to go job hunting."

OoOoOo

"Oy, Aki! Guess who has a job!"

"How the hell did you get a job so fast? You just went out to get groceries!"

"Seto Kaiba just fired his secretary. I talked to him and he hired me on the spot."

"Kaiba? That's odd. He's the one who hired me for my skills..."

"Cool! I'm cooking pizza tonight. Any messages?"

"Ryou said his friends were coming over on Sunday to play Monster World. He wants to know if you'll come."

"Why not. I have to order some extra parts though."

OoOoOo

"Konnichiwa! My name is Hikari Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"This is the girl you hired from the street?" said Mokuba in shock.

"Yes. So long as she does her job...and doesn't try to blackmail me like that idiot..."

"So what should I call you?" asked Sakura.

"My name's Mokuba. Seto's my big brother."

"Do you want me to call you by your nickname or just Mokuba?"

"Eh? How did you know I had a nickname?"

"Someone as cool as you and your brother obviously have nicknames."

"My brother calls me Mokie..."

"So do you want me to call you Mokie-kun or Mokuba-kun?"

Mokuba blushed a bit as he mumbled... "Mokie-kun..."

"Alright then Mokie-kun. Could you show me around the place? I don't want to get lost on my first day!"

Seto Kaiba looked on in shock. He couldn't believe his brother had warmed up to a stranger so quickly. He shook his head, then went into his office.

OoOoOo

"I think we may have shocked my brother."

"Don't know why. I've always had a way with younger kids. Probably because I'm just a kid in an adult body."

"What do you mean?"

"Well my personality is so flamboyant that I act like a kid. But sometimes when my serious side shows, people think I'm a dragon."

"Weird..."

"Why thank you!"

Mokuba looked at her. She just laughed as she said, "Everyone thinks I'm weird. Even I do! So to me, weird is a compliment!"

* * *

By the time Sunday had come, Sakura was considered indespensible to the Kaiba brothers. She took the day off, and went to Ryou's apartment. She knocked, and was greeted by what appeared to be Ryou.

"Hello Sakura-san."

"Hello Bakura-chan. Has the game already started?"

"No, Yugi and the others are still picking their characters."

"Oh good. Here's my character sheets and I have my miniture on me. Lead the way, Bakura-chan."

She meet Ryou's new classmates, then sat down. Bakura took the time to look at her character sheet. He frowned and asked, "What exactly is a Guardian Kaito?"

"Oh...I entered this contest for the creators of Monster World to create a new species and class. Apparently, they choose mine because it was the most original and thought out. In return, I got a full set of figures and a complete diorama of Monster World. It goes into circulation tomorrow."

"Odd that I didn't hear of it. I'll let it slide so you can use your avatar."

"Yay! Making a new one is such a pain. It's fun to create the mini, but a pain to carve."

"So Ryou-kun, where did you meet Sakura-san?" asked Anzu.

"She moved in next door. I heard a loud noise and she answered."

"Sumimasen! I forget sometimes that I have a loud voice. I was just glad to have my wireless internet up on my new laptop."

Everyone chose their characters. Anzu the elf magician, Yugi the half-elf beast tamer, Honda the magic gunman, and Jounoichi the soldier. Sakura was a Guardian Kaito, which Bakura had no clue to what it actually could do.

"So who's the dungeon master?" asked Sakura.

"I am."

"Thought so. Personally, I prefer dungeon master to character," shrugged Sakura.

"Why is that, Sakura-san?" asked Yugi.

"Let's just say I have a mischeivous streak, and leave it at that. Anyway, don't call me san! It makes me feel old!"

"How old are you anyway?" asked Bakura.

"Bakura-chan! Don't ask a female her age! You're liable to get slapped! Besides, I'm only 22!"

"Then why do you call me Bakura-chan?"

"Because I know you're not Ryou-kun. Ryou-kun's hair doesn't spike upwards like that. Not to mention the aura is completely different."

"Then why did you still come in?"

"Because today's Sunday and I have nothing better to do, Bakura-chan. Besides, I've been wanting to play Monster World again ever since I hit level 7."

* * *

They started the game, with enthusiam. After an odd discusion over a NPC, they headed to the forest. Sakura started off with a slash attack on an ogre. Then Yugi and Jounouchi both took out a monster each. When they came across a body in the area, they were unsure.

"I think we should leave him. I don't like the way he just showed up," said Sakura.

Jounouchi poked the figure with his sword. Upon hearing of a sword which could kill Zorc, Sakura's eyes narrowed. The others discussed entering the dark forest, to which she said, "Absolutely not!"

"Why not, Sakura-chan?"

"It's too convenient. A figure just happens to appear and then knows about a surefire way to kill the boss? The chances of that are as likely as you giving up games. I don't trust this at all."

"Why shouldn't you trust the stranger?" asked Bakura.

"For one thing, it's way to early for the team to find a way to kill the boss. I wouldn't be so suspicious if we had learned about this after defeated a mini-boss in a dungeon, or if we had passed a test in a town. But an NPC to show up and freely give the information out of nowhere? Highly unlikely and a little too suspicious."

The others decide to trust the stranger, though Sakura's character remained on-guard. Which is why when the 'stranger' betrayed them and attacked, only her character was spared. Zorc attacked her character next.

"Kaito Neko and Zorc must roll the die to determine who attacks first. Since your character remained on guard against the stranger, you roll first Sakura-chan."

Sakura rolled a 13, while Bakura had a 40. She rolled again and got a 4. Her attack cut Zorc's life down a third.

"What the...?"

"Did I mention I was a level 7? Guardians weild magic, while Kaito's are expert magic swordsman, or gunman. Since I weild a level 4 fire and ice sword, my attack doubles when I roll a ten or less."

"When this is over, I want you to explain your character and class. I want to know every detail!"

"Ya, ya, so who goes next, Bakura-chan?"

"Zorc's injuries force him to wait a turn before attacking again. Magician Anzu attacks next."

Anzu rolled a 99, or a fumble. She awakes to find herself inside her miniature.

"EH?"

"I knew it. Ryou-kun can't transfer souls!"

Jounouchi and Honda are enraged at Bakura, and attack before their turn. Both roll a fumble, which causes their souls to be taken as well. Yugi tells Bakura to transfer his soul as well. His darker half takes over for the others. After Yami and Sakura attack, they gained a monster. As they head to the castle, Yami notices something odd.

"Sakura-chan...you're glowing."

"Eh?" Sakura looks and says, "How odd."

They are attacked again, only this time Sakura rolls a fumble. Bakura takes her soul, only to find he can't.

"Impossible!"

Her personality does a 180 as she straightens up. She growls at him, annoyed.

"Not impossible, Thief King. The girl knows more about magic than you may think. Including how to negate it!"

"Impossible. No one can negate the Shadows!"

Sakura's personality briefly went back to normal as she said...

"Iron wasn't around during your time. If it was, then obviously no one bothered to test it against magic. It's common knowledge that iron can block and even dissapate magic, which is why the Celts used to put things like horseshoes and crosses made of iron over children's beds, to prevent fairies and witches from harming children."

"What is with you Sakura-chan?" asked Yami.

Sakura turned to Yami, and gave him a bizarre grin. Though to him it looked more like a smirk.

"Who said I was Sakura? Just like you and Bakura, she also has another side. Before the Egyptians mastered the Shadow through your items, there was a race of beings who controlled the Shadows. They tied their magic into a book, which had instructions on how to make what you lot call the Millennium Items. But they never used it, because the cost was too great."

"Cost?"

"99 damned souls. Somehow, you humans gained control of the book and sacrificed a village called Kul-Elna to create the Millennium Items. By doing so, you released a evil being which terrorized Egypt until the Pharoah sealed it away, along with his own name."

"How do you know this?" asked Bakura.

"Over the ages, three fourths of the beings decided to become one with the Shadows, and created another world which they called the Dominion of the Beasts. By making this place humans controlled their souls, and started what you lot know as the Shadow Games. But the rest of us were reincarnated throughout the ages, to monitor and protect the Shadows. This girl was one of the bodies that was reincarnated."

"So she was never there to begin with?" asked Anzu.

"No, she is real. But unlike the others, who have to forcefully take over, she lets me out whenever she feels magic nearby. Which is probably why people seem to think she becomes a dragon when she gets serious..."

"So why didn't you show up earlier?"

"I was waiting until you tried to take her soul, baka kaito."

"Wait, if she's real, then what's with the cat ears?"

"You got a problem with it?" growled Sakura.

"No, no...just wondering..."

"I'm weird for a reason, smart-ass. If people don't take me seriously, then it throws them for a loop when Tsuki comes out. It gives me a mental advantage."

"Wait a minute. I don't see you wearing iron, Sakura-chan."

"I'm wearing an iron bracelet. Well, iron and silver anyway. Silver to purify, iron to protect."

"What about the symbols?" asked Yami.

"The ankh for rebirth, eye of Horus to see through all, the Ouroboros for eternity, and the feather of Ma'at for truth."

"I don't see any Egyptian symbol for Ouroboros. In fact, I don't remember any word like that..." said Yami, confused.

"My bracelet is in the shape of a snake eating it's tail right? That's an Ouroboros symbol. It came after Egypt, but it still works. Besides, it can also represent Apophis, which was the Greek name for the dark god Apep. Apep was the personification of darkness and chaos, which would tie him to the Shadow Realm quite nicely."

"And how do you know this?"

Tsuki shrugged, "Internet. Mythology fascinates Sakura, so she reads a lot of it. Certain things tend to stick in her mind."

They continued the game, and when they reached the castle, it opened up. While the other went into the tower, Kaito Neko stayed outside. Zorc tried to make a sneak attack on them, but Tsuki activated the Guardian characters ability and took the hit. Her life dropped by half immediately, but the others were spared. Yami tried twice to roll the right number, only to barely make in on the third.

Zorc attacked and narrowly missed the players. Neko defended them long enough for Yugi to release the true spirit of Ryou, which manifested itself as an NPC of a white magician.

* * *

By the time they finally defeated Zorc, they were all tired. Sakura retook control and said, "Well that was definitely more fun compared to my usual games!"

Everyone sweat-dropped at her announcement.

"Are you going to be okay, Ryou-kun?"

"Hai...now that the dark spirit is gone, I'll be fine..."

"He's not gone. People like him tend to keep coming back. But I think I know how to help you deal with him."

"What?"

"I'll order another bracelet like this one. It should help a little to control him. At the very least, it will protect you from the Shadow Realm influence."

OoOoOo

Sakura groaned in boredom. Once again, she was having trouble sleeping.

/Need help, aibou?/

//I can't sleep again.//

/How about visiting the Kuribohs? They always cheer you up./

//Might as well. Aki took the last of the sleeping pills.//

The shadows grew in her room, and quickly enveloped her. She stood up and began walking, her bracelet glowing in the darkness. Suddenly she stopped. She heard something in the darkness.

"Damn Zorc...he lied to me. He said he would give me power to avenge my village!"

She ran towards the voice, which was cursing quite a bit.

"Ano...who are you?"

"What the... Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Hikari Sakura. Why are you in the Shadow Realm tied up?"

"So you already know where you are. Interesting..."

"Well duh...I always travel through here to visit the Kuriboh. It's the only way I can sleep some nights."

"You can control where you go in the Shadow Realm...but I don't see a Millenium Item on you..."

"Don't need one. Tsuki controls the Shadows through my body. I can probably get you out of here if you want."

"Really? I'd like to see you try. Zorc himself put me in here. It would take a power that either rivals, or exceeds the Millenium Puzzle to get me out."

//Tsuki, would you mind taking over? I think it'll be easier for you to release him.//

/Hai...my power is greater in the Shadow Realm. Not even a Millenium Item could beat me in this realm./

"Hello, little one. Can you tell me your name and how you ended up here before I consider releasing you?"

"My name...is Bakura. I'm the lone survivor of Kul-Elna. After the soldiers attack and murdered my family, I asked the village god to give me power to destroy the Pharoah, who ordered the attack. But I was sent here and he took over my body. I've been here a long time...I don't even know what year it is anymore."

"If you are who you claim to be, it's been 5,000 years. From what I recall, the Pharoah's son took over, sealed the Millenium Items as well as Zorc using his soul. A few of the items acquired a soul, which is usually their past counterpart. It's only recently that the items awoke."

"5,000 years? But that means...!"

"Your body is either mummified or gone. I'd say gone. Somehow, your spirit was reincarnated, because I just helped the Pharoah's present self beat you in a game last week. How you were reincarnated while being stuck in here is strange though."

"Are you going to get me out or not?"

"Considering the fact that you've been stuck here for 5,000 years because you were naive, you're coming with me. You'll have to stick close to Sakura, otherwise your body will come apart. Unless you'd rather help your modern-day self. Then I'd have to seal you inside a protection amulet. Either way, you'll be leaving this place behind."

"What kind of protection amulet?"

"Ankh, Horus, Ma'at, Apep/Ouroboros. All these are represented in a protection bracelet of my design. It contains iron to ward away magic influences that you don't want, and silver to purify evil. I can get you one or you can seal your soul in it to protect yourself."

"I'd rather have my own body, thanks. But I might protect others...I always did protect people younger than me..."

OoOoOo

Sakura woke up the next morning, and nearly jumped out of her skin. Laying next to her was a boy with tan skin, whitish hair and a scar next to his left eye. He appeared to be at least the same age as her. Slowly, he stirred...

"Um...Ohayo?"

"Not a morning person, eh, Kura-kun?"

"My name is Bakura..."

"I know, but I already call the spirit of the Millennium Ring Bakura-chan. So I'll call you Kura-kun."

"Why Bakura-chan?"

"Chan is the suffix for girls...or boys who look a little too girly... Speaking of which, you're going to at least need a haircut if you don't want to be confused with Ryou-kun."

"I can't afford to have my hair cut."

"I'll pay for it. You look about Ryou's age, so your getting a hair cut. I'll register you as Bakura Hikari at the high school."

"Lucky for you, Aki is the one who has to buy groceries for the week. I'll put down some more fruits on the list. I hope you're hungry, because I'm making eggs and bacon for breakfast."

Kura's stomach roared at the thought of food.

OoOoOo

"Everyone, we have another transfer student, all the way from Egypt. His name is Bakura Hikari."

A boy with short white hair, tanned skin and a scar on his face walked in. His brown eyes looked old, and he wore a bracelet similar to Sakura's protection amulet on his left wrist. Half the girls squeled in excitement, for he bore a striking resemblence to Ryou. His attitude was more confident, and he walked with a natural grace. After the introduction, he sat down next to Yugi.

"What are your hobbies, Bakura?" asked Anzu.

"I collect knives. I'm not much for games."

"Do you have any family?"

"Do you know Sakura Hikari?"

"We've met," said Anzu. *She didn't really like her flamboyant personality.*

"She's my older sister. I live with her and her roommate Aki."

"Where did you get that bracelet?" asked Miho.

"Nee-chan gave it to me, to celebrate the fact that I'm in high school. I almost didn't make it in."

"What happened?"

Bakura winced.

"The math portion almost did me in...literally."

* * *

"So how was school? Did you get mobbed yet?" laughed Aki.

"Yes... And it was fine."

"Ah, the wonders of fangirl obsession. It's your bad luck that you look like Ryou!" Sakura said, laughing.

"What are fangirls?" asked Kura, confused.

"Fangirls: persistent as cockroaches, impossible to get rid of, makes disturbing fanfiction/art, tend to mob the unlucky sap they like...also, they almost always run in groups."

"How do you know all this?"

"You're looking at one. Me and Aki are anime fangirls. Only we obssess quietly...though I have a tendancy to glomp people..." said Sakura. Kura looked even more confused...until...

**GLOMP!**

"GET OFF OF ME!"

"Nope. This, Kura-kun, is what's known as a glomp. You just have to grin and bear it!"

OoOoOo

"ARGH!" yelled Sakura. She had just got off the phone with Kaiba.

"What happened?" asked Aki.

"SOME BAKA MESSED UP MY FILE CABINET AGAIN! THAT'S IT! IF I CATCH THE TEME RESPONSIBLE, IT'S A ONE-WAY TRIP TO THE SHADOW REALM!"

Kura walked in right as Sakura was cursing in ancient Egyptian. He winced as he said, "The baka strike again?"

"Yup."

"Any chance we can calm her down long enough to get dinner?"

"Nope."

"Take out again?"

"I'll get the coupons," said Aki with a shrug.

By the time Sakura reached Kaiba Corp, the guards had gotten a heads-up from Aki to avoid her. When Kaiba saw the look on her face, he wisely decided to spend the night with Mokuba. Sakura was on the WARPATH.

OoOoOo

"Finally! Back to normal...for now. Ra dammit, I'm tired of re-organizing every day!"

"Aki here."

"I'm staying over at Kaiba Corp to catch the !#$%^&* responsible for messing up my work. It may take a few days though. Think you can live without me?"

"Ya. You're taking out the trash for a week though."

"Fair enough."

A shadow crept into the building. It made no noise, as it crept up to the 30th floor. A cabinet stood alone near the west end of the building. As the shadow made it's way to the item, it failed to sense the presence from behind. Right as it was about to open the cabinet, it felt a sharp pain on the back of it's head and was knocked out.

"Gotcha, you damn pest!"

Turning on the light revealed Ryou, who had a rather large lump on his head.

"What the hell? Why is Ryou messing up my files?"

"Ow..."

"Care to explain, Ryou-kun, why you were messing up MY files?"

"Sakura-san? Where am I? And why does my head feel like it's about to split in two?"

"Don't give me that, Ryou! I'm furious enough because I had to spend the past week coming in and reorganizing my files everyday! Either you explain why you are here, or I'm sending you to the Shadow Realm!"

Ryou's hair spiked up, as he said "I'd like to see you try, on'na."

"Bakura...why have you been messing up my files?"

"I was looking for something."

"What?"

Bakura shrugged.

"Let me guess. The Ring acted up and lead you to my filing cabinet, so you've been sneaking in here to find out why."

"How'd you know?"

"It's acting up now."

It was glowing violently. Sakura sighed, then brought out a file with Egyptian heiroglyphs. The glowing stopped.

"What is that?"

"Designs for my line of protection amulets. Mokuba helped me convince his brother to make them. Since they're actually quite popular, Kaiba had me design more of them. That is most likely the reason your Ring acted up. But if I ever catch you messing up the files again, you are dead beyond recognition. GOT IT?"

Bakura took one look at her when she said this, then gulped and said meekly, "Yes."

"Now get!"

Bakura scrammed.

OoOoOo

"Are they done?"

"Yup. My line of bracelets is complete. Any seeing as they're very popular with the high school students, particularly females, we should have no trouble selling them. Is the board still giving you grief because you accepted my idea?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Which reminds me, here's yours. I made it to suit your particular tastes."

She gave Kaiba a bracelet. He gave her an incredulous look, but put it on. When he realized what it had on it, he didn't mind.

It was in the shape of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon eating its tail, the inscriptions were different than the one she wore. It had an inscription with a crescent moon, the usual Horus eye, the feather of Ma'at, stars of Nut, and another Ouroboros symbol on the Blue-Eyes head.

"Care to explain?" asked Kaiba.

"The moon is Thoth, the Egyptian god of Wisdom. Horus for the Sight, Ma'at for truth, the stars represent Nut, the Sky goddess. Nut was considered a barrier between the forces of chaos from the ordered cosmos. The Ouroboros is the never-ending cycle. By putting it twice on that bracelet, it ensures that it continues to protect you at all times. I chose the Blue-Eyes because not only is it your favorite monster, but it also doubles as an Ouroboros, which can be depicted as either a snake or dragon eating its tail."

"You really did the research on these."

"It helps when you actually have someone from that time period living with you. He knows more about ancient Egypt that most archeiologists."

"Is this the same kid who you want to protect Mokuba?"

"Yup."

"Fine. Any addictions?"

"He likes knives. Also, he was a thief before, but I've broken that habit from him...mostly."

"Mostly?"

"He'll only nick things if the guy really annoys him...which explains why I found Ryou's pendant last night."


	2. Chapter 2

The moving trucks came to their apartment. Kura looked nervous until Sakura explained about her online friend moving next door. A girl with light brown wavy hair came up and hugged her.

"Kate! It's awesome to finally meet you in person! Love the hair cut, by the way."

Kate's blue-green eyes winked mischievously at Kura. She came in and met Aki, who gave Sakura a look.

"Meet our new neighbor! Kura, Kate's joining you at school, so try to help her out."

"Anything I should be warned about?"

"I'm a fangirl."

Kura groans...while Sakura and Aki laugh their heads off. Kate stays over for dinner, which happened to be spaghetti. The next day Kate walked with Kura to class. They (unfortunately?) ran into Yugi and friends.

"SQUEE! You're so cute!"

**GLOMP!**

* * *

Yugi had a panicked look, while Anzu looked pissed. Jounouchi, Honda and Kura were having trouble breathing...they were laughing too hard. When they reached the class, Kate introduced herself and sat on Yugi's left side, annoying Anzu further. Finally, Anzu went up to Kate and said, "What's your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you hug Yugi out of the blue, then sit next to him!"

"Are you jealous or something? It's not his fault he's adorable."

Yugi happened to be taking a drink at that point, and spews it all over his desk. He starts choking...and finally manages to breathe after Kura thumped his back a bit. Yugi and the others watched Anzu and Kate bicker. Finally the teacher had to separate the two. Kate couldn't resist adding one last jab at Anzu though.

"Get your own chibi. I already call dibs!"

Yugi looked to Kura and Jounouchi.

"What just happened?"

"You've been claimed by a fangirl. You are officially doomed," said Kura with certainty. Yugi gulped.

* * *

Yugi walked home, with Kate right behind him. After the inital ackwardness of the classroom, he found she was a refreshing delight to talk to. When she met his grandfather, they got along fine!

"I like her Yugi. She a bit different from your usual girl, but she's completely honest."

"I like her too Grandpa. She's different...though Anzu really hates her. I don't know why though..."

Anzu was furious. This new girl was intruding on her territory! What if this 'Kate' ruined her friendship? She would not let that happen! Growling to herself, she started plotting on ways to get rid of Kate.

/Hmm...I wonder what Sakura-chan is doing now.../

//Why not go over there and see?//

/Maybe I...wait, what?/

//You heard me, baka. I could always 'possess' you and force you to go.//

/No!/

((DING DONG!))

"Just a minute! Wonder who that could be."

Anzu stood at the door, waiting. When Ryou answered, she shocked him by saying, "I want to talk to your darker half. I already know he's back."

"What do you want?" growled Bakura.

"I want your help in getting rid of someone. She's invading my space."

/I think she's referring to Kate. They were fighting over Yugi earlier./

"And why would I help you?"

"I help you get rid of the suppression bracelet Ryou's wearing."

/Spirit, the bracelet doesn't suppress your power. I checked the hieroglyphs earlier when I first got it. None of them can be used to control the Shadows./

//Let's see how far she's willing to go. And I'm double-checking those hieroglyphs!//

"I repeat, why should I help you? I don't even LIKE you to begin with!"

Anzu's eyebrow twitched...dangerously. Bakura genuinely feared that she was about to start a friendship rant. Suddenly Kura pops up behind her, as if sensing this, and knocks her out cold.

Bakura sighed in relief.

"I hate to say this, but THANK YOU!"

"You're welcome. No one should have to suffer those ridiculous rants of hers. Sakura-nee said you're welcome to join us for dinner. She made a huge turkey, and she seriously doubts that we can eat enough to fit it in the fridge."

"Why did she make a turkey? It's not Thanksgiving."

"She randomly buys stuff every time she goes to the store. This week it was turkey. Kate's coming too."

"What should we do with THIS?"

"Why is she here alone anyway?"

"My host seems to think she has a real problem with the girl two doors down."

"Kate? Well in that case, let's dump her in Kate's apartment and lock it from the outside!" said Kura with a mischievous glint. Bakura actually laughed evilly at this idea, and they did just that.

* * *

Sakura was at Kaiba Corp, looking up random sites on Egypt when she found something that made her squel with glee. Several of the other employees stared at her, then realized they really didn't want to know. Mokuba went up to her and looked, then backed away slowly. Some things normal people were never meant to see...

**DemonAlchemist:** yatta! I found a chatroom with people as crazy as me!

**9tailedninja:** What do you mean crazy?

**DemonAlchemist:** lol. I mean people who don't care about other's definition of NORMAL.

**SharinganAvenger:** Oh great, another dobe.

**DemonAlchemist:** Keep it up, SharinganMoron.

**9tailedninja:** you know what Demon? I like you already!

**CherryBlossomKunoichi:** who dares to insult my Sasuke-kun?

**DemonAlchemist:** can it, pinky

**CherryBlossomKunoichi:** how did you know I had pink hair?

**DemonAlchemist:** Japanese for cherry blossom is Sakura...which also happens to be my name. My guess is your name is the same, which only leads me to conclude that you have pink hair.

**SharinganAvenger:** she has a point.

**DemonAlchemist:** thank you, Sasuke. I take it that 9tailedninja is Naruto?

**9tailedninja:** how'd you know my name?

**DemonAlchemist:** kekeke...I am Sasuke's worst nightmare. I AM A FANGIRL.

_SharinganAvenger has logged off._

**DemonAlchemist:** squee! I was hoping that would get rid of him. So Naruto, do you like chicken flavored ramen?

**9tailedninja:** I LOVE RAMEN! All flavors!

_CherryBlossomKunoichi has logged off._

**DemonAlchemist:** lol...we scared her off.

_FoxThief has logged on._

_PhantonDai has logged on._

_HikariMaster has logged on._

**PhantomDai:** Hello?

**DemonAlchemist:** OMG...are you related to Phantom Dork?

**PhantomDai:** his name is Dark.

**HikariMaster:** Dork is an accurate name for him though.

**FoxThief**: hello all.

**DemonAlchemist: **nice username

**FoxThief:** thanks.

**PhantomDai:** so who are you?

**DemonAlchemist:** names Hikari Sakura. I'm the personal assistant of Kaiba Seto. People call me either weird or crazy.

**HikariMaster:** never heard of you

**DemonAlchemist:** I'm guessing your Satoshi Hikari.

**HikariMaster:**...! How do you know my name?

**DemonAlchemist:** I know a lot of things. You are Satoshi Hikari, and your other half is named Krad...(SQUEE!) PhantomDai's name is Daisuke Niwa, and his other half is Dark (Dork is more like it.)

**FoxThief:** did she just say 'squee'?

**9tailedninja: **why yes, yes she did. lol

**FoxThief:** *sweatdrop*

**DemonAlchemist:** RAMEN!

**9tailedninja:** I should go. Kakashi-sensei has another mission for us today

**DemonAlchemist:** isn't he always obscenely LATE?

**9tailedninja:** why do you think I've been on so long?

**DemonAlchemist:** talk to you later, Naruto-kun!

_9tailedninja has logged off._

**PhantomDai:** I have to go. I still have homework to do. Bye!

_PhantomDai has logged off._

_HikariMaster has logged off._

**DemonAlchemist:** darn. Guess it's just you and me, Fox

**FoxThief:** I've been meaning to ask, but where did you get your name?

**DemonAlchemist:** I like demons. They're really cool!

**FoxThief:** ...

**DemonAlchemist: **so where did you get your username? It's awesome.

**FoxThief: **I used to be a thief. Besides...I like foxes

**DemonAlchemist: **I love foxes! And cats...and dogs...and dragons. Uh-oh...looks like my boss wants to see whats kept me quiet for over an hour.

**FoxThief:** is that bad?

**DemonAlchemist:** not really. Though the look on his face reminds me of the time I came in wearing pigtails. That was a riot!

**FoxThief:** what happened?

**DemonAlchemist:** lots of doubletakes. I usually wear my hair in a tail. I rarely do anything girly. Oh joy...more filing. Ta, Kurama-kun!

**FoxThief:**....!

_DemonAlchemist has logged off._

**FoxThief: **Weird girl...

* * *

"Sakura, what were you doing that scared everyone on this floor?"

"Chatroom. I found people as insane as me."

Kaiba looked disturbed at that thought, then handed her papers. She put them in their designated spot, then asked, "Is there anything else sir?"

"No..."

She went back to designing her protection bracelets. As she suspected, (and to Kaiba's secret relief) her bracelets proved to be popular beyond what they thought. Soon they would market them globally.

((In Egypt))

As was his duty, he watched over the Millenium Items. But something wasn't right. He could sense that something was negating the shadows. Or at the very least, making them very disturbed. And that is not normal...shadows aren't supposed to have feelings!

* * *

"Alright Kate, I need your help with something."

"What?"

"Can you get Yugi to come to your apartment to play a card game? I'll bring Seto Kaiba, Ryou and Kura. Not to mention the cards."

"Sure...Dare I ask which game we're playing?"

"Do you want plausible denaibility?"

"Not really."

Sakura gave her a lecherous grin... "Strip Poker."

"I'll bring the booze and you're on."

* * *

"Kate-chan, why are we heading to your apartment?" asked Yugi innocently. (Poor, naive Yugi-chan...**cackle**)

"Sakura said she's bringing cards to play poker, and she wanted to invite you. She doesn't think Anzu, Jounouchi or Honda would know how to play."

"Okay... Who else is coming?"

"Kaiba, Ryou and Kura. Which reminds me, Sakura asked me to pick something up. Wait here a sec."

Kate returned with two bags. Yugi carried one inside the apartment. Sakura was already there with Kaiba sulking on the couch.

"Kate-chan wasn't kidding... But why are you sulking, Kaiba-kun?"

"So they didn't tell you what game we're playing?"

"Kate-chan said we were playing poker. Why?"

"I won't spoil the real surprise until they bolt down all exits. "

Kura walks in with Ryou, who is none the wiser. After dinner, Sakura brings out the low table and the drinks. She then locks the door tightly, and grins at Kate, who proceeds to 'lock-down' the apartment.

"Kaiba, I've been meaning to ask this earlier... What the hell is 'Strip Poker'? Sakura made me swear not to ask until she locked the door!" asked Kura, seeing Ryou and Yugi suddenly look very, very nervous.

"Did you say...strip poker?" said Ryou in growing horror.

//Host, what is this Strip Poker?//

/It's regular poker...only if you lose the bet, you take off your clothes!/

//...//

A flash of light is seen from Yugi. His darker half takes over immediately after sensing Yugi freak out completely.

After explaining the rules to Kura and Kate, Sakura deals the first hand...

* * *

Several rounds later, Kaiba, Bakura and surprisingly enough, Yami had already lost theirs shirts and pants. Kura, Kate and Sakura weren't wearing shirts either. It turned out that while Yami was obscenely good at most games, his 'poker face' really sucked.

"Your turn, Yami-kun," said Kate with a lecherous grin.

"You're next Kaiba-san," said Sakura with an equally lecherous look.

After both lost spectacularly with two really crappy hands, they lost their boxers. Bakura lucked out and kept his until the game ended. Then he noticed something odd happening to Yami and Kate. Yami was slurring his words a little too much, while Kate was tipsy. Bakura looked at Sakura and she laughed.

"I had Kate buy beer. Feel free to get drunk, cause knowing you, you'll leave Ryou-kun with the hangover anyway."

Bakura actually grinned openly at her, "You know me too well."

Kaiba actually fell asleep, so Sakura took pity on him, and had Kura give her boss his clothes back...well his pants anyway. Now they had a full-blown party, with Sakura bringing out the snacks Kate bought with the beer. By the time morning had come,Sakura and Kura weer the only ones without hangovers.

"Kura, hand out the umeboshi, kay? I'll dimm the lights."

"Ow...I curse you Sakura..." groaned Yami.

"And it won't even make it past my protection bracelet. Be grateful that I don't feel like tormenting you further, Yami-kun," Sakura cackled.

"Be quiet Hikari or I'll dock your pay!"

"I hate those damn birds..." growled Ryou.

"Poor Ryou-kun. Don't worry, the umeboshi will kick in about ten minutes. I'll be quiet until then making breakfast."

By the time she finished, everyone more or less looked human. Sakura handed out ice-packs to everyone, who silently thanked her.

"Lucky we did this on a Saturday night..." said Kate.

"It's not luck. I had all this planned to fall on a Sunday. By the way Yami..." said Sakura with a glint in her eye. Yami gulped...he did NOT like the look one bit.

"You had better not tell Anzu about the party or the game or I will have Kate stalk you...and do unspeakable things to poor Yugi-chan."

"You wouldn't dare..." said Yami in horror.

"Wouldn't I? I already like Yugi-chan. Besides...I wouldn't torment him...much..." grinned Kate.

"And I have a thing for my boss and Bakura," snickered Sakura.

"I soooo did not need to hear that. And for the love of Kami, don't mention that to Mokuba!"

"Why?" asked Yami with a glint.

Kaiba growled at him... "Because the runt already calls her Onee-chan. If he finds out Hikari actually likes me, he'll try to hook us up...I just know it."

Yami looked at him as he said, "You know this means I have blackmail material on you. Jounouchi and Honda are going to love this..."

"Tell them and I hang you by your puzzle boya~!" said Sakura with a evil smile.

"Oh, before I forget nee-chan. Your order came in the mail yesterday."

"You mean those? Why the hell didn't you tell me?" said Sakura annoyed.

"What order?" asked Ryou.

"My specially designed swords! The ones I was going to train with Kura with!"

"You ordered swords...and want to actually USE them?" said Yami in fascinated horror.

"Mine came in two days ago," Kate informed him.

"What kind are they?" asked Kaiba, mildly interested.

"I ordered a Jian sword. Mastering one of those is said to require a perfect combination of mind, spirit and life force."

"I have a set of Tiger Hook Swords. I've seen them in action, and they are bloody awesome!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

* * *

"Yo Yugi! What happened to you yesterday?" asked Jounouchi.

Yugi gulped, looked at Kate and Anzu, then whispered, "Not while Anzu's around!"

Honda and Jounouchi met Kura and Yugi on the roof at lunch. They got Anzu to avoid them by simply saying "guy talk".

"Go ahead and tell them Yugi...Though how you lost at poker still confuses me," said Kura.

"You play poker Yuge?"

"Not just any poker..." grinned Kura.

That had Jounouchi's attention. He had a mischievious look as he put two and two together.

"Strip Poker? And you didn't invite us?"

"Not only that, he and Kaiba both lost their boxers. Kaiba fell asleep though...Right before we had this kick-ass party! Ryou is actually a wild man!"

"That thing he did with the knives was cool tho'," said Yugi.

"Why didn't you invite us?" asked Honda.

"Because if we had, you would have brought Anzu and that would have ruined the whole thing!"

"Ruined what exactly?" growled Anzu from behind.

Yugi pulled Jounouchi and Honda to the side and told them Sakura's threat. They gulped, and swore a vow of silence about the game.

"What's this I hear about a party? And why didn't you invite us Yugi?"

"Kate asked if I wanted to play games at her house, so I went with her. It just...developed...into a party!" said Yugi nervously.

Kate walked up behind Anzu, who was starting to really get into one of her friendship rants, and coolly knocked her out. The boys all sighed with relief, then ate lunch.

"By the way Yugi, how's the hangover?" grinned Kura evilly. (If you were wondering where Bakura got his evil mischief-making ways, it sure as hell wasn't from Ryou.)

"What do you mean about hangover?" yelped Honda.

"Sakura asked me to buy beer for her. I 'accidentally' bought too much, so I'm fairly sure she served it to everyone playing the game."

"Kaiba's a lightweight, I swear! Three drinks and he's out cold!" laughed Kura. (Had like 15 before calling it quits...yet he still didn't have a hangover...O_o)

"Whereas Yugi had like ten before he started slurring his words..." snickered Kate, who had at least 12.

"You drank beer Yuge?" yelped Jounouchi.

"We tricked him and the others..." Kura and Kate assured him.

"Did someone mention tricks?" asked Ryou.

"We were telling these two about Saturday night...you remember...the hangover?"

"Ah yes...that bastard stuck me with it after drinking over 20 beers!" growled Ryou annoyed.

"You're lucky I always have umeboshi in my plans," chuckled Sakura evilly.

"Eep!" was the general consensus.

"Did Anzu start another rant again? Who knocked her out this time?"

"Me," said Kate proudly.

"Girl seriously either needs a time-consuming hobby or to get laid. She's way to up-tight!"

Yugi blushed, Jounouchi, Honda and Kura all stared at her in worship, and Kate snorted.

"Remind me to give you boys some Icha Icha books. I have the full set after Jiraiya found out I would actually read and enjoy his 'art' without destroying it."

"Are they the orange books with a circle and a line going through it that you forbid me to read?"

"Yup. I didn't want you to read them before I did and ruin the plot."

Honda, Jounouchi and Kura looked at her before shouting, "You're our hero!"

"By the way, why are you standing on the fence? Isn't this the roof?" asked Kate.

"Ya, but you all know I'm part cat. So I have excellent balance!"

"No you aren't! And your balance is crappy!" retorted Kura with humor in his eyes.

"Says the idiot getting two weeks of dish and trash duty!"

"NOOO! Not dish duty!" groaned Kura in mock horror.

"What's so bad about doing the dishes?" asked Yugi.

"She likes to experiment with food taste! If you have dish duty, your the victim who has to try out her concoctions and then do the dishes!"

"Ah Kura-chan, you know her food is usually edible!" laughed Kate.

"What about the time she put chili peppers and hot sauce in the potatoes soup?"

"Chili peppers and hot sauce?" Kate gave her friend a look.

"I wanted to test his tolerance for spicy things. Apparently, he needs large quantities of water to even eat anything spicy. Wimp."

"Why do you have wood disks in your ears?"

"It's random day."

"It's always random day with you. Why else would you hold a party after strip poker?"

"Because I can?"

"Hikari! What are you doing here?" growled Kaiba.

"I sensed that Yugi-chan had told someone about the party so I showed up to see who," said Sakura honestly.

"Why is Anzu on the ground with a large lump on her head?"

"Friendship rant," said Kura.

"Say no more. Who did it this time?"

"Me. She really needs to work on her perifrial vision. She didn't even see me."

"Ow...huh? Why is the annoying neko and Kaiba here? Don't you have a job, Baka Neko?"

* * *

Sakura started laughing her head off at this. Seeing Anzu's confused look, Kura thought about taking pity on her. He decided against it. It was too funny watching her wonder what the hell was going on. Kaiba however, decided to ruin it for him.

"One of Aki's favorite series is Fruits Basket. A key phrase heard throughout it is 'Stupid Cat', mostly said by Yuki Sohma. And Hikari's favorite character is that cat."

"Oh. Baka Otaku then."

"Anzu-san, do you know what an Animagus is?" growled Sakura.

"What a what is?"

"An Animagus can turn into an animal at will. And I, unfortunately for you, happen to be one."

"So what? Let me guess, your form is a dumb housecat."

Sakura stepped forward...and shifted. Her arms shortened into powerful paws with razor sharp claws, her legs gained muscle, and her head shrank into a powerhouse full of large fangs. Her brown hair faded into a midnight black, and she grew a long slinky tail. She growled menacingly at the girl.

"Her Animagus form is a very large panther. She hates it when people mock Otakus," Kura informed the shocked Anzu with glee.

She purred as she laid down next to Kaiba, who looked slightly freaked. The rest of lunch was eaten in partial silence.


	3. Chapter 3

"Remind me again why we're watching a suspicious video?" said Kate.

"Because it was sent to me by the creator of Duel Monsters," Yugi patiently explained.

"I'm guessing you've never watched the Ring then," snickered Sakura.

"The Ring?" said Jounouchi.

"It was based on something called 'Ringu' from here. Also, Ju-on also came from here," explained Sakura. (Horror Movie fan. Can watch 'Nightmare on Elm Street and not flinch.)

"What is Ringu about?" asked Honda.

"Some demented zombie brat came out of the TV whenever you played this screwed up tape. You only had a week to live before she came out of the nearest TV to claim your soul. The only way to be spared was to make a copy of the original tape."

That had Yugi's attention...now he looked a bit freaked about the mystery tape. Sakura chuckled darkly.

"It was unmarked...though with all the weird things happening around here, it wouldn't surprise me if something like that movie actually happened. Did I mention the bodies all looked horribly deformed? And were as pale as someone who drowned with their mouth open?"

Yugi yelped and dropped the tape. Kate looked at her friend and said, "Aw...you scared Yugi-chan."

"Good. I've meet Pegasus briefly before, and you don't want to run into him ever."

"Why?" asked Yugi meekly.

"He has the same problem Ryou's other self has."

"Psychotic?"

"Nope. He steals souls and forces people to play against him. Knowing him, if you had played that tape, he would have created a Shadow Game, beaten you, then would proceed to steal someone's soul in order to force you to attend his tournament."

Which is exactly what happened when Anzu put the tape in. Yugi's grandfather was taken, though not without a fight from Sakura.

* * *

When she got home, she found out that she had been invited to the tournament as well. A loud bang is heard as Kura walked in, with Mokuba on his back. He looked haggard.

"What the hell happened?" yelped Aki.

"Pegasus was at Kaiba Corp. Had a meeting with the idiots on the board. Mokuba was listening in, and Pegasus tried to take him. I happened to be there and beat the crap out of the guards. This was the safest place I could think of."

"Only one thing to do. Mokie, what do you think of Fairies?"

"I like them...but don't tell Seto that. He hates magic."

"Deal. Mokie, time to take you to Peraru, the Fairy King."

Mokuba suddenly had a strange look in his eyes.

"Mokie? What's wrong?"

"IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE SOMEONE KNEW MY NAME..."

"Oh hell no. Don't tell me Mokie is your...!"

"He is my reincarnation. As well as my charge."

"Crap...I should have known this would happen. Oh well. Do you know how to play Duel Monsters, Peraru?"

"Yes."

"Make a Fae deck. You'd better take over. That way, Pegasus won't know that's Mokuba's body."

Mokuba's hair shortens and turns a pearly silver color, with blue-purple highlights. His body grows a few inches, and his eyes turn a light amethyst. His ears become tipped, like an elf, his clothes turn a light white. A stubborn strand of hair falls around his right eye.

Sakura takes one look at the little elf, then glomps him saying "KUWAII!"

"So that's what an elf looks like. Huh."

Peraru blushed heavily. Sakura let him go, then went to get some clothes that wouldn't stand out too much. He changed into a pair of blue jeans, a light shirt with the saying "Dreams make Life worth living!"

"It suits you gaki," said Aki and Kura in sync.

"It does. Now...all we have to do is copy the dumb invitation and you're in!"

"Nee-chan, you were invited?" yelped Peraru.

"Apparently no one told the idiot I suck at Duel Monsters. I would let you take my place, but I'm afraid that you'd get into a lot of trouble if I did."

"That, and Kaiba would kick your ass if you let him go alone."

"True...hey! Not in front of Mokuba!"

"Mokie's asleep. Kura wore him out getting here," Peraru informed her. Her grin was more than enough to worry him.

"Really? YAY! Now Peraru, is there any way to bring your deck out now? I want to devise a strategy to defeat the weaklings that will undoubtedly show up."

* * *

"Who's the kid with the weird hair?"

"So cute!"

"I don't recognize him..."

"How did a wimp like him get into this tournament?"

"Who's the lady next to him?"

"What's with that strict hair style?"

"Tsuki-san! What are you doing here? Who's your friend?" yelled Yugi after hearing everyone talk about the strange woman and kid with silver hair. (He had no room to talk, and he knew it.)

"I'm impressed that you knew it was me that they were talking about. And this is the Fae Duelist, Peraru."

"Fae?"

"It's the old term for Fairy. It also insures that you don't insult them," explained Tsuki.

"So why isn't Sakura-nee out?"

"It's to throw off the weaker duelist. If they think I'm a no-nonsense duelist, it'll really throw them for a loop when she comes out. I'll just tell her what cards to play though."

"What about Peraru? I've never heard of him."

"I'll tell you when I'm positive that the idiot horse doesn't have goons nearby to nab him."

"Idiot horse?"

"Think about it. What is the sponsor's name?"

"Pegasus?"

"I still don't get it."

"A pegasus is a mythical creature from Greece. It's supposedly a winged horse that was sent by Zeus to add his half-blood son Hercules."

"I get it now!"

"I'd worry about you if Kate wasn't always watching over you..." she muttered.

Joey caused a scene, that was resolved when Yugi gave him one of his starchips. Mai approached her early in the evening, eager to learn about her style. Tsuki sent her packing when she mentioned something about too much perfume.

Yugi was about to let the infamous Bug duelist look at his grandfather's Exodia cards when Tsuki magically appeared behind the other boy.

"Trying to sabotage the competition gaki? Anyone with eyes as shifty as your is not to be trusted. Now get before I do something..._permanent_."

The bug duelist looked freaked out as he vanished. Yugi gave her a reproachful look.

"I've heard rumors that he sabotages other players. If that's true, then he would have thrown the cards overboard and not lost any sleep over it."

Jounouchi came over and showed Yugi the cards he got in trades. Tsuki smiled when Yugi helped his friend's deck further by giving him the Time Magician. Peraru stood next to the railing as they sailed to the island.

* * *

"Isn't that Ryou?" asked Kate as they headed to the top.

"Looks like him. But I know he didn't get an invite, so what the hell is he doing here?"

"Don't know..."

"We're going to be late!" Jounouchi yelled.

* * *

"Is it just me, or was that speech really long and really boring?"

"It's not just you."

"Good thing I have some aspirin, otherwise bug boy would be toast. I'd duel him, then either wreck his creepy-ass deck...or throw his dead body off of a cliff."

"I think you should take some aspirin now then."

"Why?" asked Tsuki, becoming annoyed.

"Because the Bug brat just got his ass handed to him by Yami," said Kate, amused.

"DAMN!" said Tsuki, as Kate proceeded to thoroughly glomp Yami to celebrate his victory. Jounouchi and Peraru were laughing their asses off seeing him glomped.

"I seriously need to duel someone...before I get crankier."

"Shall we find Dino boy?"

"YES! Peraru, stay with Yugi. I'm off to pwn people."

* * *

Kate and Tsuki left, and ran into a very disturbed duelists named Bonez. The only thing that scared Sakura was how poorly Pegasus thought out his plans. Like the little skeletons cliche. When Sakura thoroughly beat Bonez, they tried to lock them in with a boulder. Sakura grabbed Kate's arm, and they Apparated outside.

"Never try to lock a witch in, boys," said Sakura cheerfully.

"Get her!" yelled their boss, a man named Bandit Keith.

"And never annouce your intentions to an American. We tend to react violently," Sakura said as she knocked all of them out. After taking out the boss, she stole their star chips quite happily.

"Isn't that against the rules?" asked Kate, amused.

"If they can lock us in a cave and get away with it, then they deserve what they get. Besides, it was either this or I let Bakura have them to play with."

"I vote Bakura. He always come up with fun games!" said Kate.

"Too bad. I only need four more to get into that castle...and since there are several players weaker than even me, I say we duel until this glove is full," said Tsuki.

"Fine by me."

* * *

Two hours later...

"Found you!" said Kate, glomping Yugi. He had six stars, Jounouchi had five, and Peraru six. Tsuki held up her glove, and smirked when they all cursed.

"I don't want to stay on this blasted island any longer than necessary. Kate and Jounouchi, do you two know how to set up a tent?"

"Yup."

"Never went camping," said Jounouchi.

"Alright, I'll give you the tents, and be right back. I'm leaving a book here, so don't move it. If you can't figure out the tents, I'll help you when I get back."

"Where are you going?" asked Peraru.

"To the top of the steps. I'm not climbing those damn things twice!"

Tsuki returned with an audible crack, an hour later. She saw the tents almost half up, and they all jumped. She sighed, then took out a stick and moved the tents up with what appeared to be magic.

"Alright, Jounouchi, Kate and Yugi get the red tent. Peraru and I get the blue. The password to see the night sky is 'Celestial' and the word to deactivate that is 'mischief'."

* * *

Yugi walked into the tent, and yelped loudly. Kate and Jounouchi ran in to see what was wrong, and their jaws dropped.

Inside the red tent:

It was easily the twice the size of Yugi's room, and then some. A bunk bed complete with sheets and pillows, and a curtain was on the left side. Next to it was another bunk bed in different colors, and another curtain. On the right side of the tent was a couch and a table with two chair opposite. At the end was a complete kitchen area with a wood stove and a mini-fridge, fully stocked. Closed off with a curtain was an actual shower, with a basket a foot away.

"How...?" said Yugi, stunned.

"How is not important. All I want to do is keep Jounouchi from eating everything in that fridge!" grinned Kate.

Inside the blue tent:

Two double bunk futon beds with pillows and sheets, along with two couches, a small tv, and a laptop with wireless on a table in the middle. The shower had darker curtains, and a sink next to it. The kitchen had an electric stove, and a full sized fridge. Also on the table was a basket full of fresh fruit.

"That Tv has Satelite," grinned Sakura.

Yugi and Kate walked in, even more shocked. The inside of the blue tent was double the red one!

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah, Jounouchi's eating all the food in the fridge," complained Kate.

"Most of that stuff is wax anyway..." smirked Sakura. Her eyes had an evil glint and she nearly died laughing when Jounouchi came in looking sick.

Jounouchi then proceeds to vacate his stomach outside, then comes back in. Sakura tries not to laugh again, as Jounouchi gives her an evil look.

"I'll make dinner..." eyes laughing all the way.

"So why didn't Honda and Anzu come with you Kate?" asked Yugi finally.

Kate and Peraru winced, visibly. They looked at each other, then came up with a plausible lie.

"We convinced Anzu to stay with Grandpa, and since she stayed back, Honda stayed with her...for her protection," Kate said nervously.

Jounouchi gave her a look.

"They hogtied Anzu and told Honda to stay with her to keep her quiet," Sakura informed them, cackling.

Yugi looked scandalized, while Jounouchi was laughing. Peraru went to see if he could help Sakura cook, and stay out of the crossfire.

"Kate, how could you?"

"She's annoying! If she had come, she would have blown my cover and none of us would be here!"

"What do you mean?" asked Jounouchi.

"NONE of her outfits are suited to hiding! I've seen her closet, it's full of bright pink and yellow outfits! She would attract way too much attention when I was sneaking on the boat!"

"It's true. I've seen her closet, and every single one of those outfits would have screamed **look at me!** By the way, did you two bring spare clothes?" said Sakura, looking at Jounouchi and Yugi. Their sheepish look was all she needed to see.

"Alright, first one up has to make coffee and tea. I'll get you some spare outfits from Mizu alley and the department store."

"Mizu Alley?"

"I'm a witch. Mizu Alley sells clothes and scrying equipment. Any particular colors you want?"

It turned out that Yugi favored the darker colors, while Jounouchi liked blues and reds. They all went to bed after dinner, each taking a bed in their tent.

* * *

"I hate not being able to sleep," Sakura grumbled quietly.

She got up, and turned on the laptop. Peraru was a log as she activated the AI.

"Password?"

"Wizard Monster."

"Aren't you up a little late again DemonAlchemist? I thought you were supposed to be at that silly tournament," said Wizardmon.

"You know I can't live without my fanfics. Besides, I'm going to help my boss out. We're hacking into Pegasus' tounament and freeing up Yugi's data."

"I'll do it, but I want you to sleep. You stay up late every night as it is!"

"Ya, ya..."

"We have a problem. All the security is on the data."

"Blow the door."

"Magical Game!" Wizardmon cried as he used his power to blast the door. When the smoke cleared, a castle in the middle of nowhere could be seen.

"I sincerely doubt Pegasus is a wizard. So there's only one password that it can be. Enter the word 'Alcatraz' in."

The doors swung open, and the data was freed.

"Alright, now I want you to completely obliterate that defense, then put up a barrier of our own."

"I'll do it. But only if you go to sleep!"

"Alright. Night, Wizardmon."

"Night, DemonAlchemist."

* * *

The day started with an almost literal BANG! All the blame for that could be laid on Jounouchi and Kate, who were snickering while they followed through their evil plot.

"RAWR!" a loud cry was heard as Kate poured ice water all over Sakura. Sakura in turn, transformed in an instant into her panther form, and chased the two outside. She switched back and locked them out.

Four cups of uber-strong tea later...

"You can let the idiots in now Yugi," growled Sakura, annoyed.

Kate and Jounouchi walked in, still smirking.

"Give a good reason not to rend the flesh from your bodies..."

"You still want me to update on my fic don't you?" said Kate. Jounouchi declined to comment.

"Fine. You two live to see tomorrow. But if you try that again, you DIE."

"There's a reason why Kaiba doesn't make her get up before ten. And that's why," laughed Peraru. He (unfortunately?) walked by Sakura as he said this, so she grabbed him, and proceeded to give him a tickle torture.

"Yugi! Help!" said Peraru between laughs.

"Dog Pile!" cried Kate, as jumped Sakura and Peraru. Yugi and Jounouchi joined her, and soon everyone was getting tickled.

Sakura extracted herself, and began a large breakfast. She ate quickly, then portaled back to Domino. She returned an hour later, and handed the boys their clothes. Much to their surprise, they all fit.

Yugi went into the red tent with Peraru and Jounouchi to change.

Yugi came out decked in a dark blue shirt with buckles, dark jeans with a pentagram belt buckle, and a chain for his puzzle.

Jounouchi walked out with faded blue jeans, a light blue shirt and a belt with a holder for his deck.

Peraru wore a pale lavender shirt with an elf on it. His shorts stopped at the knees, and were a pale silver. His belt had two fairies around a crescent moon.

Kate walked out in a tee and blue jeans. What Tsuki walked out in however, had all the boy's jaws drop in shock.

A sleeveless around the neck shirt, crimson red, denim skirt with a Sakura beltbuckle, and a decorative card holder. Her hair was down, with three pins holding out of her face. One had a star, another a crescent moon, and a Sakura flower.

"Sakura?" said Yugi in shock.

"Aw boys, don't tell me this is the first time you've seen a real girl before," cackled Tsuki.

"It's her alright," said Peraru.

"Can you imagine how Bakura would react?" snickered Kate.

"Forget Bakura! Think of how Kaiba will react!" howled Jounouchi laughing.

They packed up the tents into Sakura's expanded backpack, and went to get more star chips. Jounouchi found lunch after beating Mai, and they snacked on fish.

* * *

The guy who was cooking the fish appeared, and challenged Yugi. Yami took over, and won the duel. Now he had eight star chips. Peraru fought 'Mokuba' and won easily. Just when they were about to return the chips and deck, 'Mokuba' was captured!

A fake Seto Kaiba appeared, and thoroughly annoyed Tsuki.

"He's not even real! If he were, he'd know the password I always set up for him!"

_(Kaiba POV)_

It was a little too easy sneaking into his mansion. He really needed better security. He went into the secure room with his computers, and began hacking into Pegasus' precious tournament. When he saw the digital wizard appear however, he scowled.

"I wondered when you'd finally show up. You know the password for the data, but I can't keep any viruses away while the laptop DemonAlchemist is using is closed."

"Fair enough. Any messages from her?"

"Two. First is: I know full well that you're not dead, and I'll have your deck waiting for you."

"What's the other?"

"If you don't have a change of clothes after that swim you took in the ocean, then find me first. I already bought some in your size. Also, Mokuba is with me and Kate. He's in a disguise, so you won't recognize him."

"How the hell did she know I fell into the ocean?"

A screen popped up, with her face showing. He almost didn't recognize her.

"I have an active scrying spell on you, baka. You can't get rid of it either. Right now Yugi is dueling a fake with your face, and Mokuba's double is being held hostage by one of Pegasus' goons."

"And how are you talking to me?"

"PDA. It has a wireless connection, and apparently Pegasus never thought to secure it."

_(Sakura POV)_

Kaiba is funny when he's furious. She watched the duel as avidly as a train wreck. It was blindingly obvious that Yugi was going to win...especially since Kaiba was going to sabotage two of his precious Blue Eyes.

"Blue Eyes, Obliterate!" cried Yami finally, as he sent his opponent to the Shadow Realm. He made a pointed warning to Pegasus, and looked around in horror as he realized that 'Mokuba' was missing.

* * *

Wandering around, Jounouchi ended up challenged by Rex Raptor. Tsuki, Peraru and Kate blantantly cheered on Jounouchi.

Jounouchi won, barely, and got a Red Eyes Black Dragon as his reward for passable dueling skills. After Peraru won his tenth star chip, it was dark. Sakura cheerfully brought out the tents. After a few quick rounds of Jen Kan, she delivered the orders. Yugi and Kate retrieved the wood, Jounouchi got the difficult task of getting water, and Peraru started the fire. Sakura's ears perked up when she heard some rustling in the bushes, and quickly transformed into a small cat and went to investigate.

"Did I just see Sakura turn into a cat?" said Ryou in disbelief.

"Yup...here she comes now," said Kate. Ryou turned, saw a huge midnight black panther, and fainted.

Sakura turned back, and began cackling madly. Ryou came to in time to help with dinner, though he was still shaken.

After discussing their fave monsters, they started discussing which one represented them best.

_Peraru:_ Fairy King

_Jounouchi: _Flame Swordsman

_Yugi:_ Dark Magician

_Ryou:_ Change of Heart

_Sakura:_ Magician's Valkyria

_Kate:_ Dark Magician Girl

**Faves:**

Yugi: _Dark Magician_

Joey: _Baby Dragon_

Ryou: _Dark Necrofear_

Peraru: _Magician of Faith_

Sakura: _Kuriboh/Winged Kuriboh_

Kate: _Petit Dragon_

"I have an idea. Why don't we play with our Duel Monster selves. Not for star chips, just for a little fun," suggested Ryou. Sakura noticed the glint in his eyes pretty quick.

Bakura came out...and was immediately whapped upside the head by Sakura.

"Don't even think of taking my soul, or Tasogare will come out," she informed him cheerfully.

"Tasogare?"

"Not telling boya!"

Sure enough, Bakura took Kate, Yugi, Peraru and Jounouchi's souls. But when Peraru's soul was removed, something odd happened. His hair went from silver to black, it grew longer, and he grew shorter!

Yami came out as well, took one look at the boy and gaped.

"Mokuba?"

"Yup. Peraru, which is Mokie's previous incarnation, took over after Kura brought him to us. Apparently he switched with a changeling, which Pegasus nabbed."

"And you know this how?"

"I said his full title, and woke him up," admitted Sakura sheepishly.

As Yami was well into the game, he played Dark Magician Girl...and was shocked to see Kate standing there!

"Kate?"

"Yami..." said Kate a little too calmly.

Yami started to back up a little when Kate started a full on rant! It took Sakura to calm her down long enough for the game to resume. Soon Yugi, Peraru and Jounouchi joined her. Sakura cheerfully sat next to Bakura, wanting to see what he would do next. When Jounouchi was sent to the graveyard twice, Sakura felt something happen in her own soul. Her eyes started to flicker and change, her hair straightened, her demeanor shifted drastically from cheerfully insane to regal master. She had power, and she knew exactly when and how to use it properly.

"Sakura?" said Kate, nervously.

_"Not anymore. Bakura, stand down NOW,"_ she said, more than a hint of command in her tone.

Bakura snarled as he said, "Who do you think you are, to command me?"

_"I am called Tasogare, but you may know me better as Shadow Master Hekara."_

Bakura blanched...he'd heard rumors of her even in the Shadow Realm. She was one of the original masters, well over 15,000 years old! Yami brought Jounouchi back again, then Bakura played Ryou.

One long spiel that would have made Anzu very happy later...

* * *

Tasogare switched Bakura with Ryou forcefully, and Yugi attacked. The game ended, and Peraru retook control, with Mokuba's blessing.

_"Ryou, if Bakura tries that again, I'll turn him into a vegatable."_

"Who are you? What happened to Sakura?"

"I thought Tsuki was her dark half," said Peraru, confused.

_"Tsuki, is the...tamer...version that Sakura created. I'm the true form, though you could say that I am both Sakura and Tsuki combined," _Tasogare shrugged.

Mai popped by later, then left. But when they heard her scream, everyone got up and ran. They arrived in time to see an Elimanator beat her. Yami took over again, and beat him. But Panik, angry that he was beaten, shot all the flamethrowers at him.

Tasogare cursed, switched, and Sakura cast the flame-freezing charm on Yami. A third eye appeared on Yami, as he promtly sent Panik to the Shadow Realm. The shackles remained on his legs, and refused to come undone. Apparently, when Panik destroyed the controls for the flames, he ruined the unlocking mechanism.

Everyone except Sakura was stumped.

"Oh move over! Alohamora!" said Sakura, as she waved the wand over the bindings. They popped open easily, and they all stared at her.

"One of the first spells we're taught is that one. If you show any aptitude for magic, I'll help you get a wand."

Mai left, still shaken from Panik. Sakura moved the tents to the cliffside, and they settled in for the night. Sakura had the red tent all to herself as she took a shower, her clothes for the night by the table. She came out, and quickly got dressed. She scowled, mainly due to the fact that all she had left to wear was a midnight blue dress that was held up by a strap around her neck and no back. She wrapped the belt around her waist, to make it hard to tell it was a dress, and went outside.

Ryou and Yugi were discussing their Millennium Items. The Ring glowed, one of it's points directing them to the castle. A helicopter came flying in low, and opened to reveal a certain grump with brown hair.

Seto Kaiba had finally arrived.

((Tasogare means Twilight in Japanese. As for her other name, Heka is Egyptian for Magic.))


	4. Chapter 4

"I wondered when you'd finally show up. How did you like the joke password?" asked Sakura, amused.

"Who are you?" asked Kaiba, not recognizing her.

"For the love of! It's me, Sakura!"

"Impossible. She never wears girly outfits...and you look nothing like her!"

"I'll prove it then."

"And how's that?"

"I'm the reason you have to buy dill pickle jars in the breakroom every three days. Also, your protection amulet is in the shape of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, with the inscriptions of Thoth, Nut, Horus, Ma'at and a second Ouroboros."

"Alright...wait a minute. _You're_ the one who keeps eating all the pickles in the break room? Do you have any idea how many complaints I've gotten from the Accounting Department alone?"

"Nope."

Kaiba would have ranted, but he suddenly noticed something odd. A kid with silver hair and what appeared to be wings came out of the blue tent.

"Who's the kid?"

"My name is Peraru, the Fae duelist. I already know who you are. Mokie told me all about you and Sakura."

"You've seen Mokuba? Where is he?"

"Pegasus took a changeling in his shape earlier. If I told you where Mokie was, he would try to abduct him again."

Kaiba looked very relieved that Pegasus didn't have his brother. He started to walk off, but Sakura walked up to him, snagged his arm, and proceeded to drag him to the tents.

"Let me go right now Hikari!"

"Hell no. If I let you go, you'll challenge that psycho idiot, and most likely get beaten. Pegasus can read your mind with that damn eye of his, so I'm not letting you go alone!"

Peraru helped her drag Kaiba into the blue tent, and grinned as Kaiba's jaw dropped. He stared in complete shock at the kitchen appliances, the tub and the TV that was off.

"How...?"

"I went shopping at Hi Alley and bought two wizard tents. They are bigger inside than out. Also, they always have proper beds."

"This can't be real. Magic simply does NOT exist."

Sakura sighed dramatically...then pulled her wand out, muttered something under her breath, and Kaiba promptly started floating a good five feet in the air.

"What the hell? Someone get me down now!" yelped Kaiba. Jounouchi woke up, saw Kaiba, and laughed his head off.

"Nope. Not until you give me a rational explanation as to why you're up in the air, thanks to this 'stick' in my hand," said Sakura calmly, eyes laughing.

"There is no rational explanation!"

"Yes there is. All you have to do is admit it and I'll let you down gently."

Kaiba took a deep breath...and started to rant on how magic simply wasn't possible. Sakura let him drop...then turned to the still laughing Jounouchi and turned him into a yellow golden retriever. His barking shut up pretty quick when he realized what she did. He yelped and hid behind Ryou, who was cracking up.

"Now tell me how Jounouchi turn into a dog. Use any scientific terms you like. But you are not hallucinating, there are no holograms in this tent, and a mirage could not occur in these conditions," said Sakura.

Kaiba admitted defeat after Sakura did a few more spells...like turning him into a dragon for five minutes. Jounouchi turned back to normal after an hour, all the while giving Sakura a reproachful look. Yugi found this all highly amusing, Kate slept through the whole thing, and Ryou went back to making his midnight snack.

* * *

"Alright everyone. Let's choose who gets what tent tonight. And if ANY of you wake me up like this morning, it's a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm!" growled Tsuki.

"What did they do?" asked Kaiba.

"We poured ice-water on her. We couldn't get her up!" said Jounouchi, amused.

"I think we should leave Kate in here. She's finally asleep," said Yugi.

"I really don't want to move off this couch," admitted Peraru. Ryou said he wanted to sleep on the top bunk this time.

Jounouchi and Yugi both didn't feel like sleeping in the red tent...which apparently no longer had any food, courtesy of Jounouchi.

"Let's see. Kate, Yugi, Ryou, Peraru and Jounouchi in blue tent...which holds five people comfortably... So I guess you and me get the red tent. And by the way Jounouchi, if you eat all the food in this tent like you did the other one, I will personally kick your arse from here back to the mainland! First one to wake makes tea and coffee again. Though this time I'm making the breakfast," said Tsuki.

Tsuki took Kaiba into the red tent, and his eyebrow raised when he saw the mess next to the shower.

"I got out of the shower about five minutes before you showed up. Evansco," Tsuki said, waving at the mess. Kaiba watched in fascination as it cleaned itself up, folding into neat piles in the basket. He then gave her a pointed look.

"Aki cleans at home. Besides, I'm tired and not in the mood to clean."

Sakura flopped down on the bottom bunk, and fell alseep. Kaiba watched her for a moment, then took the second bunk. Sometime during the night he fell to the ground. Still groggy and in no mood to climb back into the bunk, he climbed into the bottom one, completely forgetting Sakura had already claimed it. She snuggled up to the warmth he gave off, and fell into an even deeper sleep.

* * *

Ryou found them in each other's arms the next morning when he went to wake them up. When he saw them curled up to each other, he felt an unexpected pang of jealousy towards Kaiba. His darker side took over, and shook both of them roughly. Kaiba woke up first, saw Sakura curled up to him, and yelped loudly.

"What's going on...? What the hell?" yelped Sakura in equal shock. She glared at Bakura who was smirking.

"Tea's ready. Coffee will be drinkable in ten minutes."

Bakura left, cackling now that he had blackmail material on Kaiba. He didn't dare try it with Sakura.

"Care to explain how you ended up in the same bunk as me?" said Sakura, almost fully awake and absolutely amused.

"I fell off the bunk in the middle of the night," said Kaiba as if that explained everything.

"So you actually forgot that I had already claimed the bottom one when you crawled into it to go back to sleep?" she laughed.

Kaiba got up, and went to take a shower. Sakura stretched and went to see if Jounouchi left anything in the fridge. When she heard the shower running, she called out, "You did remember to bring a change of clothes for when you got out, right?"

She held back a chuckle when he cursed...loudly.

"I'll be right back."

Shadow traveling back to Domino, she bought some more clothes in Hi Alley, which coincidentally happened to be across the street from the shop Yugi's grandfather owned. She returned with clothes and some books about dragon care that she knew her boss would actually read.

She returned five minutes later with two pairs of jeans, a sleeveless dark blue top, a black tee, and fresh underclothes. She also bought red socks, just for kicks. She left them next to the shower, which was still running, and went into the blue tent to check on breakfast. Kaiba walked in with his new outfit, and scowled when Kate cat-called. Kaiba sensed that Yugi was a little jealous about that.

Breakfast was quiet, after Sakura used a silencing charm on Jounouchi, who was complaining a bit about Kaiba going with them.

* * *

"Alright, we need a plan for today. Ryou, you'll stick with Yugi and Kate for today. I want to reach that bloody castle before tomorrow. Jounouchi, Peraru and Kaiba, you'll be with me. We are going to duel as many people as possible so we all reach the castle. I'll be extremely cross if I have to make a grocery run tonight!" growled Tsuki, glaring at Jounouchi.

The charm wore off as he said, "What? What did I do?"

"Nothing, besides eat practically all the food in BOTH fridges! We barely have enough for tonight, if that. So no lunch."

They packed the tents up again, then split up. Kaiba caught up to Yugi in less than three duels. By the end of the day Kaiba, Yugi, Jounouchi and Peraru all had ten star chips. Tsuki gained her last chip needed against another Eliminator. They Apparated their way up the stairs, and were all gasping for breath at the top. They put in the star chips, and went in.

"Welcome duelists!" greeted Pegasus.

"Oh can it. I didn't Apparated up all those bloody stairs and duel for hours just to hear a long speech..." growled Tsuki. Everyone silently agreed with her. Pegasus seemed amused at her reaction. After meeting the other finalists, Mai and the changeling Mokuba, they all sat down and ate dinner.

"Seeing as how there are six of you, we'll have a preliminary match to determine who goes against who."

"Now?" said Tsuki in dismay.

He lead them to the arena that was already set up, and watched the duels. The winners went on to the finals.

* * *

Winners:

Mai vs. Peraru (Peraru)

Kaiba vs. Tsuki (Kaiba)

Yugi vs. Jounouchi (Yugi)

The next day, they dueled for the finals. Pegasus attempted to throw Kaiba for a loop by making him duel the fake Mokuba, but his plan was shot down.

Kaiba refused to duel the kid, but when he found out who Peraru actually was, he dueled and won. Yugi went up against Peraru, and won after a long neck-to-neck duel. Kaiba almost beat Yugi, but narrowly lost yet again. Finally, it was time for the main duel against Pegasus. Tsuki slipped something onto Yugi's wrist right before he went onto the platform. Yugi was tempted to look, but figured it was better not to ask.

((I'm going to skip the entire duel and go straight to Shadi's appearance. I can't write or even play Duel Monsters to save my life.))

* * *

"I'm so glad you're alright Yugi!" said Kate happy. She had gotten worried when Pegasus was thrown back and sent him and Yugi to the Shadow Realm, but he won anyway.

"By the way Sakura-san, what exactly did you put on my wrist?" asked Yugi finally.

"Your own protection bracelet. Ryou, Kaiba, Kate and Mokie already have one. It's why the Shadow Realm didn't affect you as badly."

Yugi lifted his wrist to reveal an odd dragon he didn't recognize and several familiar symbols engraved on the outside.

"Why a dragon? I thought the Ouroboros was a snake eating it's tail?"

"It can be either a snake or a dragon."

"Hey, isn't that Pegasus' tower?" said Ryou suddenly.

Yugi and Sakura head into the tower. Yugi to make sure Pegasus actually let his Grandfather go, Sakura to swipe the guy's diary as payback for making them go through the ridiculous tournament. Sakura sensed someone come up from behind, and spun around.

Behind Yugi was a man with clear Arabic ties, probably a full or half blooded one at least, wearing a turban and robes better suited to desert wear than Japanese weather. His eyes showed no emotions, and he had an Ankh-shaped key around his neck. In his right hand was a set of scales, bearing the eye of Horus. Sakura hissed violently, causing Yugi to turn around.

"Wha...?" was all Yugi could get out before the key touched his forehead, and his eyes went vacant.

"Yugi! What did you do to him?" growled Sakura in fury.

The man turned to her, and his eyes widened slightly.

"So you are the one who has disturbed the Shadows. I am Shadi, the keeper of the Millennium Items."

"Well obviously you haven't been doing a good job. I mean come on, Ryou's father found the Ring at an Egyptian market stand for crying out loud! And what the hell are you doing to Yugi? He hasn't been Gaming anyone who didn't deserve it!"

"I do not sense a Millennium Item on you...yet you control the Shadows as well as the Pharaoh...?" said Shadi confused.

"I wouldn't keep an Item even if I had one. And don't even think of using the Millennium Scales or Key on me bub. I'll knock you back so hard your neck will get whiplash!"

Yugi came too a minute later and gave Shadi a shocked look. He saw Sakura glaring at the man and had to ask, "What did he just do to me?"

"He judged you and Yami to see if you were worthy of the Puzzle. It seems you passed. And by the way Yugi, Pegasus' Millennium item is in the first drawer. Grab it and the Dairy and let's go."

Yugi did as she said and they left...but not before Sakura gave Shadi a parting shot.

"Come after me or my friends again and it'll be a permanent vacation in the Shadow Realm for you, pal."

Shadi appeared visibly shaken as they left. He had not expected to run into one of the lost Shadow Masters as well as the bearer of the Puzzle!

* * *

Things seemed to calm down when they returned victorious...that is, until the owl showed up on Kaiba desk a week later with a letter.

"HIKARI! GET IN HERE!"

"What is...What the hell is THAT doing here?" growled Sakura. She took the letter from the owl and waited until Mokuba came in to see what the ruckus was about.

"What's going on?"

"You got a letter...from Hogwarts? Why would they be sending you an acceptance letter? You should be going to the Academy in Tokyo to train your magic if you went anywhere. Hogwarts is in England!"

"Let me see... Dear Mr. Kaiba, you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..." Mokuba read aloud.

"I'm going to owl the Japanese Ministry to see what the hell this is about..."

Sakura left with a "POP!" and came back with a "Crack!" ten minutes later. Another owl appeared the next day bearing a scroll. She took it off the owl which left with a hoot.

**

* * *

"Dear Ms. Hikari,**

**Upon receiving your owl concerning the mage known as Mokuba Kaiba, we have discovered that the Academy has completely been filled and cannot take him in. His magic awakened too late to allow him into any of the other schools in Japan this year. We suggest that you enroll him into a school soon.**

**Yours truly,**

**Satoshi Harada.**"

* * *

"I find it hard to believe that Hogwarts is the only school that will accept you, Mokie. I'll try to see if Salem has any spots left. That's where I went to school."

"What's wrong with Hogwarts?" Mokuba asked.

"First off, the Headmaster is a manipulative old geezer. Secondly, the Potion's Master hates everyone who isn't in Slytherin, which is one of the four houses. There's also Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Not to mention a few years ago there was this evil wizard who killed anyone who didn't have what he called 'pure blood'."

"How do you know all this?" asked Kaiba.

"I get the Daily Prophet, which is the Ministry controlled newspaper for Wizards in England."

Sakura came back in with a very cranky look. Kaiba silently gulped...he'd seen that look on her face only once, and she bit the head off a board member that time. The man had to leave for a week for 'mental trauma' because of that!

"According to Salem, and all the other alternatives, there is no more space left. Which is complete bull."

"What are you going to do now?"

"The Japanese Ministry can't let an untrained, under-aged mage loose. If we don't let him go to a Wizarding school, there's a high chance they might seal his magic. So at this point we have no choice but to let him go."

"Is it really bad to let them seal his magic away?"

"Let me put it in terms you might recognize. Imagine that someone sealed away all your duelling skills away forever, leaving you at the same level as Honda or Anzu for the rest of your life."

Kaiba winced visibly. He then sighed in defeat, knowing there most likely wasn't any other way around this.

"Don't worry. I'll take him shopping in Kaminari Alley tomorrow for his supplies. Most of the kids at Hogwarts will have wands from Ollivander's."

"What's the difference?"

"Ollivander is required by the English Ministry of Magic to place tracers on his wands. They have stricter underage magic laws. I looked up the laws here. So long as he doesn't use his magic in front of people without magic, or at least those who aren't already on the list of people who acknowledge magic and the fact that it geniunely exists, he can practice outside of school. And everyone in our floor knows or practices magic in some form."

"Can't you teach him?"

"I'm not approved. But I can teach him spells that aren't approved by the English Ministry."

"Fair enough."

"I still don't see why I have to go to Scotland to learn magic..." whined Mokuba.

"Because everywhere else is full. I know that's complete bull, but we can't do anything about it right now."

"Look at it this way though. You can brag that you're allowed to practice magic at home. None of the other students your age are allowed to do that unless they're seventeen!"

"Really?"

"Yup. Japan has better underage magic laws. And since you're a Japanese citizen, the British can't do a thing about it! Plus your wand won't have the same tracer as theirs."

"YAY!"

They walked into a store called Daisuke's Maho no Tsue. A man came from the back and said, "Can I help you?"

"My friend here was told to get his first wand. For some reason he's going to Hogwarts this year instead of the Academy in Tokyo. I figured this place had to be better than that creepy shop in Diagon."

The man brightened at her praise, and set out to find Mokuba a wand. He came back with ten different boxes.

After three attempts, Mokuba swished his fourth wand, setting off bubbles from the tip. Sakura cheered.

"That will be ten Galleons."

* * *

Sakura paid for it and they left. Mokuba's wand was fourteen inches long, made of ebony and fairy wing. They shadow travelled to Diagon for robes, and ran into two boys. One with hair that went all over the place, pitch black. The other had slicked down bleach-blond hair and snobby attitude. Mokuba could see a scar on the first boys head and wondered if it was polite to ask. The blond boy left after five minutes.

"Hi! My names Kaiba Mokuba. What's yours?"

"I'm Harry Potter."

"Cool name! So are you going to Hogwarts too?"

"Yup."

"In that case, I'd recommend you buy some warm clothes. I hear that rock pile gets bloody cold in the winter," advised Sakura.

"Really?"

"Yup. I never went to Hogwarts personally, but I had a quill pal who said it was freezing during the christmas holidays. And the Potionsmaster there doesn't let people wear gloves or scarves."

Harry thanked her for the warning, and talked to Mokuba for a bit. Sakura stepped outside and talked to a large man with a wild beard. She came back in and said, "So Harry, it looks like you can hang out with Mokuba for a while longer if you like."

"Really?"

"Yup. I talked to Hagrid, and he said I could take you shopping for the rest of your supplies so long as I brought you back to the pub afterwords. He said he wanted to buy lunch."

Harry seemed thrilled at the idea, so Sakura took him to Ollivander's next.

"Mr. Potter. I wondered when I'd be seeing you here. Are you here for your wand as well?"

"No sir. I already bought mine. Fourteen inches, Ebony and Fairy Wing."

Ollivander looked a bit put out, then set about getting Harry his wand.

* * *

Half an hour later, Harry walked out with them, his new wand wrapped up. Sakura took him to a second-hand robe shop, and proceeded to help him get new clothes that actually fit. They then went into the Magical Managerie to buy Mokuba a pet. He didn't get one, but Harry walked out with an Egyptian Asp that had caught his interest. He decided to go with Sakura's suggestion and named it Kek. Mokuba went in with them to buy all the books, plus some for his brother to read, and headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Oh, before I forget. Harry would you like me to remove that tracer on your wand?"

"What?"

"The English Ministry puts tracers on all the wands of students. It's how they track the underage magic use here. I happen to know the counter spell for it."

"Won't you get into trouble?"

"I'm American. Besides, I like you and so does Mokuba. And his doesn't have a tracer on it. We're going to practice his spell work when we get home anyway, so I don't see any reason why you can't too."

"Okay then..."

Sakura did a non-verbal spell, which made Harry's wand glow blue. A sound akin to shattering glass was all Harry heard before the glowing stopped. No one noticed the change.

"Hey Harry, when's your birthday anyway?"

"Actually, it's today."

"No way!"

"In that case..." said Sakura as she gave him an amulet like the one she wore. It was in the shape of a Basilisk, with all the usual runes around it.

"This is a protection amulet that I made. It will protect you from negative magic. If you ever encounter a Basilisk, it will absorb it's spirit and become your guardian pet. The password if that happens is 'Lillith'."

"Thank you. I've never gotten a birthday present before..."

Sakura dropped him off with Hagrid, and they wished him a happy birthday. Hagrid gave him an owl, that Harry named Hedwig.


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright Mokie, since you're stuck going to Hogwarts for a few months, let's get started on some spells. The first one I'm going to teach you is the Silencing Charm. It's what I used on Jounouchi."

"Why that one first?"

"You don't want to be kept up by snoring do you?"

"No!"

"Flick your wand and say 'Silencio'!"

Mokuba aimed it at Aki's computer which had music playing and said "Silencio!"

The music could no longer be heard. Aki growled at him, and waited until the charm wore off. Sakura had been showing Mokuba new spells for over three days. Everytime he got it right, they moved on. He got a head start over his new classmates thanks to the fact that the laws were different than in England.

"On to a more advanced spell. The one I'm about to teach you is mostly used to get rid of Dementors, which guard the Wizard prison known as Azkaban. The incantation is 'Expecto Patronom'. If successful, it will prevent a dementor from getting near you or using it's most disgusting ability called the Dementor's Kiss. The 'Kiss' removes the victims soul. The easiest way to tell if a dementor is near is a sudden drop in temperature. They suck happiness away whenever they are near, leaving only the worst memories behind."

"How do I perform the spell?"

"I want you to concentrate on your happiest, most powerful memory. When you have that down pat, say 'Expecto Patronum' very clearly. A coporeal patronus takes the shape of an animal, while a weak one looks like plain mist."

Mokuba thought about a very happy and powerful memory. He had it!

"Expecto Patronum!"

A weak mist came out of his wand. He thought of another, more recent memory.

"Expecto Patronum!"

This time it almost took form. He tried one last time...and what came out was what appeared to be a Winged Kuriboh. Which, while it proved he was successful, had Sakura on the floor laughing.

"Good job Mokie! Do you want to continue for today?"

"Yup."

"If you keep this up I might move on to Animagi training!"

"Hey sis, how do you think Harry is doing?"

"Why don't you owl him? Didn't he give you the address?"

"I think so... 4 Privit Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey..."

"You can use Hoshi to owl him. I know, why don't you ask if he wants to spend the rest of the summer with us? Since I removed that tracer he can practice with you!"

"Really? Yay!"

* * *

Mokuba owled Harry, who immediately sent an enthusiactic 'YES!' back. Sakura apparated to his house and knocked, switching over to Tsuki. Harry answered and said, "Hello?"

"Hi Harry. If you can pack your things we can leave before the Ministry knows you're gone."

"Who are you?"

"Oops. I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. I disguised myself in case your uncle answered the door..." said Sakura as she switched back. Harry's eyes widened.

Sakura came in, switched back to Tsuki, and lied her ass off. Five minutes later, Harry walked out with her trunk and owl in tow, and they portaled to Japan where Mokuba was waiting.

"Harry! How's the boring life treating you?"

"Hey Mokuba!" said Harry, happily. Two weeks away from his abusive aunt and uncle, plus he would be practicing magic without fear, his life had definitely gone up!

"Harry, you'll be staying at my house until the departure date. So make yourself at home here. Tomorrow we're heading to Tsuchi Alley for a little browsing, and possible splurging."

"Tsuchi?"

"All the Wizard alleys in Japan have ties to the elements. There's Hi (Fire), Mizu (Water), Kaze (Wind), Tsuchi (Earth), Kaminari (Thunder) and Kage (Shadow). Each one specializes in different things. For example, Fire Alley has more Auror and outdoor magic shops, while Thunder Alley has more school things."

"What does Earth Alley have?" asked Harry.

"Pet shops. Wind alley has Quidditch and sports shops, Shadow is the newer one for those who specialize in Yin, or darkness magic. They don't sell Dark Art items there, but they do sell defensive items. Like my line of amulets. Those are a major hit in Japan right now."

"Can we go to Water Alley too, Sis?"

"I don't see why not, if you want to teach Harry the 'see beyond sight' trick."

Harry learned a few new things in the week he stayed in Japan. Like how to pick locks the muggle way thanks to Bakura, how to hack into computers courtesy of Mokuba's brother, how to defend himself with Jounouchi, and Mokuba taught him some Fairy tricks that were useful in the long run.

A few days before he had to go to Hogwarts, he went with Sakura to a local shrine. He was amazed at the sight of the temple...and shocked to find out that Sakura was learning to be a proper priestess!

"I still don't understand though. Wouldn't they dislike you because you're a witch?"

"Nope. In their eyes, and the eyes of the Kami, if I wasn't meant to weild the forces of nature like I do, then I wouldn't be one. And the term we use here is Mage. So long as I don't go around acting like I'm a Kami on earth, the priests accept me as a Miko-in-training."

Sakura took him to three of her classes, which he had an apparent knack to. In less than a week, he could meditate, chant the Nine Words, and dispel negative energy with Buddhist beads.

Harry let her Miko training drop, though he brought it up again when he saw her in the living room with a star made using candles as points.

"Did I mention that I also practice Wicca magic? The more magic I practice, the stronger my powers. Besides, having more than one way to use magic helps you in the field. Say you're against an opponent who only uses a wand. If you were to use seals, like they do here, your opponent wouldn't stand a chance!"

Two days before term starts...

"So Harry, would you like to go back to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes ma'am!" Harry said quickly. His funds had dropped dramatically whenever he entered a new Wizard alley.

Sakura took Harry to Gringotts, and grinned at the inscription. When Harry went up to a Goblin, Sakura asked politely exactly how many vaults he owned.

"The Ancient and Noble house of Potter has many vaults. However, as a minor, he may only access the trust fund."

Harry looked shocked...then asked if his parents had left a will. Upon hearing that yes, they did, Sakura asked to see it.

**_

* * *

"This being the last will and testament of Lily nee Evans and James Potter._**

**_In the event of our death, custody of our son Harry James Potter, is to go to the following people in this order. Should any prove to be unfit, or is unable to take him for unknown circumstances, then the custody shall move to the next person on this list:_**

**_Sirius Orion Black (godfather)_**

**_Remus J. Lupin _**

**_Andromeda Tonks _**

**_Minerva McGonagall _**

**_Arthur Weasly _**

**_Molly Weasly_**

**_ Alastor Moody_**

**_ Severus Snape_**

**_Under NO circumstances is Harry to be given to Petunia and Vernon Dursley!"_**

* * *

The rest listed various properties and items that had nothing to do with Harry. His eyes widened quite a bit when he read about the Dursleys.

"I don't believe it! I wasn't supposed to go to my Aunt's house?"

"Wait, what? If the will says you were supposed to live with any of these people, then why on earth were you at the Dursleys?"

"Is something the matter?" asked the goblin impatiently.

"What is the penalty for going against a will?" asked Sakura.

"The penalty for that is ten years in Azkaban or a two thousand Galleon fine."

"Does it say who the executor of this will is?"

"Albus Dumbledore. Isn't that the name of the Headmaster?"

"Looks like he has some explaining to do. When we get home, you can owl any of these people and ask them if they knew about this. Can we have a copy of this to go?"

The goblin made a copy in five minutes. Harry refilled his on-hand funds and they left. Sakura took him through the portal and almost missed the "POP!" sound from behind. By the time she turned around the portal had closed.

"Wonder what that was about...oh well."

They took the long way home in the Shadow Realm, and both were surprised when a man with messy black hair walked up to them.

"Excuse me, but do any of you know where this is? I'm supposed to be dead..."

"What's your name?" asked Sakura warily.

"James. James Potter."

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was not happy. Things had been going so well. First he snags the boy-who-lived, putting him in his aunt's house where he would lose any independance he would normally have, then he discovers a source of old world magic and claims it before anyone else thinks to. Then it went wrong.

First that meddling woman tries to find other schools to send the Fae child, then his pawn goes missing! He finally finds the soon-to-be Gryffindor Golden Boy at Gringotts, then the brat vanishes before he can take him back!

His spells and tracking items are useless! Even the tracer on the wand is gone! Things could not possibly get worse.

* * *

"Did you say_ Potter?_ As in James Potter, the father of the Boy-who-lived?"

"Harry's alive?"

"Dad?"

The man looks at Harry in complete shock. Then a woman with auburn hair and emerald green eyes walks up to him.

"James, I can't find the way back..."

"Lily, it's Harry!"

"Mum?"

After a very confusing five minutes, Sakura figures out how this happened.

"It has to be the bracelet. Harry must have triggered one of it's hidden powers that only works in the Shadow Realm. That's the only reason I can think of how you found us here. And why you aren't in the afterlife."

"But who are you?" asked Lily, suspicious.

"My name is Sakura Hikari. I was taking my employer's younger brother to get his school things when we ran into Harry and Hagrid at Madam Malkin's."

"But why are you two here?"

"I brought Harry with me to Japan so he could get some early training before he went to Hogwarts. Plus, I happened to notice in Diagon that something wasn't right. Eleven year olds aren't meant to be that skinny."

It took another thirty minutes to tell them of his life at the Dursleys. That was how he found out that his aunt was always jealous of her sister.

"I just had a thought. Instead of you two wandering around here randomly, why don't I link you to Harry? That way you can talk to each other whenever you want!"

"But that's impossible. We're dead, remember?" said James.

"You may be dead, but you're no longer in the afterlife. You're in the shadow realm. And things get twisted in here. So if you want to talk, I can rig up something reflective like a crystal ball or a mirror, and link a two-way phone between you."

Sakura switches with Tsuki and takes a rope of shadow magic. She throws it over the Potters, and loops it twice, then ties it into knot. Then she loops the other end around Harry's wrist, over the bracelet, and does a triple knot. A low green light is seen, before both Lily and James sport a silver snake around their left wrist.

"Why do we have to wear Slytherin Silver?" asked James, whining a bit.

"Because the Shadows and the Masters that still live here know that I have made the Silver Ouroboros my symbol. Should you run into someone being punished, or worse a Master at least my level, that should warn them off. The monsters that dwell here don't just destroy minds, they eats souls as well."

Lily didn't complain as she gave her son a tight hug. Harry flinched slightly, then returned the hug. Jame's eyes widened when this happened, and he cursed the Dursleys.

* * *

"Have fun at Diagon?" asked Mokuba.

"You could say that. It seems someone has been bad."

"What happened?"

"We got ahold of the will that his parents left. Apparently, the executor never followed through, and went against their wishes entirely."

"Is that all?" asked Kura.

"I met my parents in the Shadow Realm," Harry said quietly.

Mokuba pats his back, letting Harry break down. Then Harry goes and writes a letter to three different people. He learned from Sakura that Sirius was in Azkaban, so he couldn't get any letters. Hoshi and Hedwig fly off, heading back to England via Shadow Realm. The return in the morning, with four letters.

Three were from the people Harry had owled, while the fourth was from Dumbledore. Kek slithered up to the last one, then started attacking it for no reason. A loud hiss is heard from the shredded paper, as the magic contained within dispells. Sakura pieced it back together and growls.

"Idiot tried to use the letter as a port-key. My wards must be blocking him out if he was that desperate to find you..."

"Good job Kek," said Harry in Parsletoungue. Kek glowed with the praise.

* * *

_"Dear Harry,_

_My name is Remus Lupin. I was surprised to hear from you, as Dumbledore had given us orders not to contact you in case we blew your cover. If you ever want someone to talk about your father, let me know. (But please try not to send any around the full moon. I am unavailable at those times.)_

_Sincerely, Remus Lupin._

_P.S. You can call me Moony if you like. It was what your father used to call me in school."_

**"Dear Potter,**

**I must admit, I was shocked to hear that I was actually put down in your parents will. I know for a fact that your father did not like me, so I assume it was your mother's influence. I must warn you to be careful around Dumbledore. He is a master Legilimens, which allows him to read minds and plant suggestions. I hope you prove to be better at potions then the usual idiots I am forced to teach.**

**Severus Snape.**

**P.S. No matter what anyone says, Slytherins are not the evil bastards the other houses make them to be."**

_"Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I am not surprised to hear that your parents placed me as a possible guardian. However, I must warn you not to pull pranks like your father and his friends did while attending. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow._

_Minerva McGonagall."_

"Oy, Harry! Mokuba and I are going to look around for some going away gifts. Want to come?" said Sakura.

"Sure!"

* * *

The big day...

Harry went with Sakura and Mokuba through the Shadow Realm to the station. They paused briefly so Mokuba could meet Harry's parents, who both gave him a hug and wished him luck. They appeared right outside the station, grab two trolleys, then ghosted towards the platform. Sakura was not happy about how heavy the trunks were.

"I am sooo getting you two a pair of Auror trunks. We barely got those on the trolley!" she growled with her usual early-morning grumpiness.

She pushed Harry through the barrier, then Mokuba followed. It was two hours before the train had to leave. She helped them put their things away, then gave Harry some last minute advice.

"I reccomend you don't bring up your father in front of Snape. If you want to ask about your mother, that's alright. Both of you had better owl me during the year!"

Harry and Mokuba took the second-to-last compartment. Harry took out his new laptop, which had several strips of iron in strategic places, and began to surf the net. Mokuba wandered around the train, and even ran into the boy from Madam Malkin's.

"Hello! My name is Mokuba. What's yours?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Cool name! Hey, if you lose the hired muscle, you can sit with Harry and me," said Mokuba, once he saw Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco debated whether to do that, then figured it wouldn't hurt.

"Crabbe, Goyle, stay with Pansy," he ordered.

Draco's eyes widened when he found out that the Harry Mokuba had mentioned was none other than Harry Potter!

Harry looked up when he heard Mokuba return, then motioned for the other boy to sit. He turned to the laptop, then said into the mic, "Three across, two down, 7."

A ping is heard indicating a correct move.

"Three down, two across, 9."

"What's he doing?" asked Draco, fascinated.

"My guess? Sudoku puzzle," shrugged Mokuba. He pulled out a book filled with them, then explained the game. Draco listened, interested in such a simple, yet complex game.

"Mum gave me a program with an advanced application. I have to solve a cube filled with the puzzles to get to the next level. If I solve this last one, she said something would be added to the security."

"He calls my big sis Mum, because she acts like one when he's around. Never thought she become normal for more than five minutes..."

"She's capital 'C' crazy. But in a good way."

"Crazy...and ebil to the core."

"Don't you mean evil?" asked Draco, confused.

"Ebil. E-b-i-l, which means she's twisted enough to make the laws of reality re-write themselves to suit her demented view of the world," Mokuba chuckled.

"She's also a class-A pervert, and not ashamed to admit it in public," snickered Harry, as he solved the last puzzle.

A loud hiss is heard, as the window fell away to reveal a large orange and white ball with a horn, two big eyes and a mouth which clearly said, "Hello, my name is Tsunomon. Are you Prongslet?"

"Prongslet?"

"My dad's nickname while he went to Hogwarts was Prongs. So that makes me Prongslet. Though how this guy got it, I have no idea. I just made it up two hours ago."

Another creature walked into the window, and Mokuba recognized it immediately.

"Wizardmon? Aren't you supposed to be guarding Sakura's computer?"

"I'm here to explain a few things to Harry, seeing as he got himself a partner like I did."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Wizardmon left, and a red head popped in.

"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

"Go for it."

"I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasly."

"I can see that," said Draco with a snort.

"I'm Potter, Harry."

"Kaiba, Mokuba."

"Are you really? I do you have the...the scar?" asked Ron bluntly.

Harry gave him an annoyed snort as he lifted his bangs, revealing the scar.

"Wicked..."

"Hardly. What's so great about a scar from where a madman tried to kill me?"

"Tell me Weasly, have you ever heard of tact?" asked Draco.

"What's your name again?" asked Ron, annoyed.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Isn't your dad a Death Eater?" said Ron coldly.

Before things could deterioate further, a girl with a major frizz problem came in and asked if they'd seen a toad.

"Accio toad!" said Mokuba, as he caught the creature in question. The girl, who they quickly learned was not only a major bookworm/overacheiver, but she was also slightly hide-bound, as Sakura would have put it.

"Isn't that a fourth year spell?" she asked quickly, aglow with excitement.

"It's a second year spell at Salem," said Mokuba, who heard that from his sister.

"My name's Hermione Granger."

"Kaiba, Mokuba. That's Draco, the red head is Ron and the boy with the broken glasses is Harry."

"Occulus Reparo," said Hermione, pointing at Harry's glasses.

"I should really remember that one. Harry Potter, at your service," said Harry, as he inspected his now fixed glasses.

Hermione went on about the books she read, when Mokuba said, "Hey Ron, why don't you sit with her for the rest of the trip?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we don't want to explain to the professors about why your blood is all over this compartment," said Harry bluntly. He could see Draco's expression, which clearly stated "go away before I strangle you."

* * *

He left with Hermione, and ten minutes later, the trolley appeared. They each bought quite a bit, and Mokuba even bought some "Blood Lollies" for a certain thief, who he thought would love them. Harry actually growled after he saw the frog card. Upon seeing Draco's confused look, Mokuba explained.

"Albus Dumbledore messed up Harry's life. Sis found out that Harry's parents left a will, with Dumbledore as the executor. Instead of actually following through, he went against the will completely and left Harry with these awful muggles who were, unfortunately, related to him by blood."

"I don't mind muggles in general, but the Dursleys I can't stand. If someone actually hexed them good and proper, I'd be cheering them from the sidelines," said Harry irritably.

"What about that thing you were playing with earlier?" asked Draco.

"Laptop. Mum bought it for me as a going away gift to Hogwarts. She fixed it so it would work inside the anti-muggle wards at the school. Makes going away a little less dull."

Hermione popped by again, to tell them that they were nearing the school.

"I still don't get the point of these bulky robes."

Hagrid called all the first years to him, and they set off in the boats. Draco, Harry, Mokuba, and a timid boy named Neville got in one. Mokuba played a trick, dumping Ron and three other boys in the lake, which had Draco chortling.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry, Draco and Mokuba stood together as the rest of the first years stood nervously. Ron made an off-hand comment about fighting a troll, while Hermione nervously went over all the spells she knew. Harry grinned, not nervous at all!

"Hey Draco, how about we become study partners when we start getting homework? That way we have someone to partner with that at least we know we can stand, no matter what house," said Mokuba, looking at Ron. Draco took the hint and agreed.

"Mind if I join you?"

"More the merrier, Potter," said Draco.

Harry got bored, and started humming a tune that Sakura liked to play while she cooked dinner. Everyone yelped when the Ghosts came in, arguing.

* * *

McGonagall came back, and lead them into the Great Hall. Then the sorting started.

"Kaiba, Mokuba!"

_'A brillant mind, not quick to judge, willing to stand by others and not take things at face value. I wish I could put you in Gryffindor where you would be welcomed, but the Headmaster has told me to place you in Slytherin.'_

'Do you have to put me there?'

_'I suppose I shall wish you luck in...'_

"Gryffindor!"

Mokuba got off the stool and went to the red and gold table. He had a sudden mental image of Yugi, his brother's rival and snickered. Draco was next.

_'Ah, not surprised I see. It seems both Potter and Kaiba have changed your opinion of Muggles somewhat. You have a bright mind, and you're not afraid to speak it. I wish you luck in...'_

"RAVENCLAW!"

A stunned silence hit the great hall. A Malfoy in Ravenclaw? Draco looked to his godfather, and was amused to see the man's stunned face, which quickly faded to his usual snarky look. He sat in the blue and silver table, which was clapping politely.

"Harry Potter!"

A low whisper seemed to fill the hall. Harry grimaced...he hated the spotlight. As soon as the hat was placed on his head, he heard it gasp in shock. Apparently it had never encountered a mind with Sudoku puzzles as barriers.

_'Let's see. You hate the spotlight, yet you are well aware of several limitations. You also cannot stand those who do not honor the dead, and will at least think before you act most times. I would put you in Gryffindor as the Headmaster told me to, but I sense a great deal of bloodshed if I do. I shall watch your career with interest in..."_

"Slytherin!"

If Draco's placement was met with shock, Harry's was meet with a complete gobsmacked expression from every table except Slytherin! Mokuba and Draco were laughing at the looks everyone had quietly. Harry sent them a grateful look, as he sat down. Kek made his appearance around Harry neck, giving off a soft hiss, which Harry assured people was his laughing. After the sorting, which had Harry yawning from boredom, he ate to his stomach's content.

Privately, he thought the whole ordeal was ridiculous. Honestly, it was as if everyone expected him to be the Gryffindor Golden Boy or something!

As he sat down, Kek popped his head out. He hissed at the noise, making several people jump.

"Calm down Kek," hissed Harry.

_**"But Harry~"**_ Kek actually whined.

"You're a bloody Parselmouth!" said a boy named Zabini.

"That's what Mum said it was called. But what does it mean anyway?"

"It means you can talk to snakes!"

"Ya," said Harry, bored.

"Does that make you the Heir of Slytherin?" asked another first year named Nott.

"Wrong. I'm Gryffindor's heir. If you want the Heir of Slytherin, then you should look for Moldy-Shorts."

"Moldy-shorts?" asked several Slytherins, highly confused.

"Mum's nickname for You-know-who," snickered Harry. Several of his new housemates looked scandalized...while more of them actually held back laughs. Apparently, it never occured to them to make up insulting nicknames for England's most feared dark wizard. After Dumbledore made his speech, and the food appeared, Harry looked around, hoping like hell what his mum said wasn't true...

"And now, for the school song!"

Harry winced, and said "Do any of you mind if I cast a silencing charm?"

Zabini and Nott looked at him in question.

"You can actually do that?"

"Mum taught me that charm in case of snoring issues. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not hear some tone-deaf idiots sing an idiotic song..."

"Do it," said Zabini, as it began. Harry cast it silently, much to the relief of his new dormmates. When everyone headed to the dorms, Mokuba waved.

* * *

It was damp. Damp, cold, and dull. The prefect lead them a veil, which covered the doorway. He pulled it back, showing a large slab of rock. He knocked on it, demonstrating that it was completely solid.

"Remember this well. We don't use a portrait that prompts for a password. If you don't say the password before you enter the dorm, you'll walk into solid rock. And the password is **Mudblood.**"

The rock slid away to reveal a plush dorm decorated in green and silver. Cats scattered away from them, determined to avoid the noise. The prefect turned to them.

"Boys dorm is to the left, right is girls. Don't bother trying to sneak into the girls dorm, it turns into a slide. If you're muggleborn, don't try to explain science or logic. The dorms are BELOW the dungeons. Your trunks have already been brought up, and you can fight over beds later. There are three unspoken rules here."

The female prefect walked up, "First, finder's keepers is the law. If you leave it out in the open, it's fair game. NO whining about it."

"Second, all the houses are gunning for us. According to them we're Death Eaters in training. We don't care about things like that. If you see a fellow Slytherin in trouble with another house, help them out, even if you think they're an ass. We take care of our own. No one else will."

"Third, Snape will give you three warnings if you're caught out of bounds. None of the others will. If your caught out of bounds after curfew, we recommend lying your ass off."

Harry grinned...he liked this house already!

"Our unofficial motto here is 'if you can smile when something goes wrong, you have someone in mind to blame."

"A close second is admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter-accusations."

"Remember to keep internal quarrels private. If you have any questions, your best bet is to ask a Prefect. Also, try to keep your tempers in check. Most of the stupidity around here is due to in-breeding."

"Get some sleep. You'll need it in the morning."

* * *

Several of the boys went to sleep almost immediately. Harry, however, sat indian-style and meditated. Blaise watched in interest.

Harry opened an eye and said, "If you want to learn how to clear your head, I'd be happy to teach you. You can even join the study group Mokuba and I are about to make."

"Isn't he in Gryffindor?"

"So? Most people are under the impression that his older brother has Slytherin qualities. Yet he always sticks up for him. So long as you're on his good side, he'll stand by you. He hates prejudice."

"I'd like to meet this kid," said Blaise, as he fell asleep.

Harry stayed as he was...he opened his mind to accept the unknown...and felt a presence. It wasn't evil...or good. He touched it with his mind briefly. It felt...strange. He gave up, and decided to figure it out later. He quickly fell asleep, dreaming of Kuribohs exploding.

* * *

Snape handed out the schedules. Harry grinned, he and Mokuba had several classes. Most of his yearmates whined about this. Harry asked the prefect where the Transfiguration classroom was. The prefect wrote it down, and Harry went to find Mokuba, who had just woke up. Three cups of tea later, Mokuba was awake enough to follow Harry to class. Mokuba took one look at the cat on McGonagall's desk, and yawned, "Morning Professor."

The cat transformed into McGonagall who said, "Ten points to Gryffindor. I am highly impressed you knew it was me. And that you found the classroom on your first try."

"Harry asked a prefect where it was. He went and brought me so we wouldn't get lost. Besides, Sis can turn into a cat too."

"What about that panther?" said Harry, annoyed.

"She can shift into both. Cat for tight spaces, and panther for muscle. And that snow leopard was Bakura."

"Hmm...ten points to Slytherin."

A few Gryffindors walked in, shocked.

"What for professor?"

"For ignoring House standings and helping a rival make it to class on time."

After a brief but memorable display of McGonagall turning her desk into an animal and back, they headed to charms. Harry and Mokuba earned thirty points for their houses by demonstrating the Patronus Charm.

* * *

Harry walked to breakfast Friday, and heard Ron Weasly loudly exclaim, "UGH! Potions with the Slytherins!"

He vaguely noticed Ron shoot a look at him when he said that. He ignored the red head as usual. He remembered that amusing time during their first class when Ron and Neville arrived thirty minutes late with the excuse that Peeves had gotten them lost.

Harry, Mokuba, and Mokuba's friend Hermione walked together to Potions. Harry took out his book, and began reading up on various ingredients.

Snape walked in, cape billowing. Harry debated whether Snape would get mad if he asked HOW he got his cloak to do that without any wind present.

Snape started in on Harry early on, and was mildly relieved that the boy at least knew his ingredients. Then he turned to Weasly, and started in on him.

"Why do you ask 'Mione? She probably knows!"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor."

"Ron, you walked right into that one," complained Mokuba. Ron growled at him.

"And another five for your cheek."

Snape looked like he was holding back a cackle when Mokuba actually took his potions textbook and whapped Ron upside the head with it. Hermione snickered slightly.

* * *

When Saturday came around, Harry got a letter from Hagrid. He asked Blaise, Mokuba and Draco if they wanted to come. Mokuba asked if Hermione could come, and Harry didn't care.

Hagrid seemed surprised to see Draco there, but took it all in stride. They told him all about their week, even Draco. Blaise seemed mildly surprised that the boy was actually being civil. Afterward, they headed in with Hagrid for dinner.

"Hey Harry, is it true that you know a NEWT level spell?" asked Draco. He'd heard the rumors that Harry and Mokuba used a NEWT spell in charms.

"I don't know about NEWT level, but Mum said it was supposedly hard to master."

Draco and Mokuba sat with Harry and Blaise at the Slytherin table. After a few pointed comments two days earlier, the others left them alone about it. Mainly because Mokuba publically annoyed Ron in front of the Slytherins, and because everyone thought the hat made a mistake with Draco anyway. Harry took out a new book of Sudoku puzzles. Draco did the same, as Harry had e-mailed his mum about Draco's interest a few days earlier.

The days passed peacefully, every once in a while, Harry, Mokuba or Draco would recieve a package or letter from Sakura. Potions turned out to be the most interesting class, as every time Snape deducted points because of Ron, Mokuba would whap him upside the head with a book. He was the only Gryffindor who was publically greeted and helped by the Slytherins. Or given points regularly by Snape himself.

It was during one of Professor Binns' lectures however, that something really interesting happened to Harry. He made it a point to meditate during that class, as Hermione joined their study group, and she took detailed notes. Harry covered the DADA course, Hermione went over Transfiguration and History, Mokuba Charms, Draco Potions and surprisingly, Neville Herbology. Blaise sometimes helped with the Astrology.

* * *

Harry was setting in for a long trance, when he once again felt the prescence. After recieving a letter that morning, Harry was already in a calm state. He decided to do something different today. Usually, he ignored it, it ignored him. This time, he decided to say hello.

'Hello?'

He felt a slight change, as if the presence greeted back.

'Who are you?'

He heard a stone rumble underneath his chair. He vaguely opened his eyes, and looked. There was no explaination at hand to explain why the stone moved...unless...

'Are you the castle?'

The stone moved up and down again.

'My name is Harry Potter. I am a student here.'

He sensed a new feeling, it seemed to say 'I know.'

'I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I didn't know it was you.'

Another feeling seemed to say, 'I don't mind.'

'Do you want me to talk to you some more? This class is so boring...'

The stone moved up and down once.

Harry chatted with the castle's spirit, unconcerned that he was talking to what most considered a pile of rocks.

* * *

When class ended, he went to Hermione to confirm something.

"Hey Hermione, is it possible for magic to change the nature of things? Say a castle or a house?"

"How so?"

"I mean things like, give it sentience."

"It is possible. Actually, I think the more magic in the air, the more likely that can happen. Especially if it's over a long period of time."

"Like say a few centuries of nonstop casting, and renewing of charms?"

"That would do it. Why do you ask?"

"You know I meditate during History, right?"

"And you know I hate it when you don't pay attention. But go on."

"When I meditate, I expand on my surrondings. I kept feeling a strange prescence each time. I finally found out what it was."

"What?" asked Mokuba, who overheard him.

"I've been sensing the castle's spirit when I meditate."

"Cool."

"Have you really?" said Hermione, excited.

"I'm fairly sure. That's the only explanation I have for that stone moving under my chair repeatedly."

Hermione left him with Mokuba, as she went to the library to look up a few things. Mokuba laughed, as he saw a resemblance to Sakura.

"That girl lives in the library," chuckled Harry.

"When the snow hits, let's drag her out and have a massive snowball fight," suggested Mokuba.

The twins overheard, and they plotted.

* * *

Harry noticed a crowd around the annoucements. Then he heard Pansy say in disgust, "Flying lessons with the Gryffindors!"

"Flying lessons? What's so bad about sharing those?"

"It's probably Ron she's thinking about."

"True..." admitted Blaise.

Ron could be heard all throughout breakfast, and Hermione quoted Quidditch through the ages. Draco did his best to calm both her and Neville down.

Harry, Blaise, Neville, Mokuba and Hermione walked outside together. They took positions next to the brooms, and awaited Madam Hooch. She seemed fine about the fact that Gryffindors and Slytherins willingly stood next to each other.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson. I want you to stand next to your broom, stick out your right hand, and say Up!"

Harry and Mokuba were one of the few to have their brooms obey the first time. Ron could be heard yelling at the broom, and the two laughed when it jolted up, and hit him full on in the face.

"Mount your brooms, and grip it tightly. I don't want to see you sliding off the end."

Everyone mounted, and awaited the signal to kick off.

"3, 2, 1..." started Madam Hooch. Hermione and Neville, full of nerves, took off too early and went up high. Harry and Mokuba, in unspoken agreement, grabbed their brooms and went after them.

Hermione and Neville's brooms made audible cracks, as they began to snap in two. Mokuba flew hard, and knew that he would be too late to catch up. He vaguely heard a rip, and several gasps as he took off the broom and grabbed both of them. Harry spotted something fall from Neville pocket, and nabbed it before it broke.

Mokuba landed softly, and set the two down. Harry silently handed the boy his Rememberall back.

"Mr. Kaiba and Potter come with me. And I had better not see any of you on those brooms or in the air when I get back, or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say Quidditch!"

Hooch took them into the staffroom, where Snape and McGonagall were recovering from their afternoon classes.

"Is something wrong?" asked McGonagall. She seriously doubted that the two had gotten into a fight, as it was well known they were best friends.

"I have found both of you new Seekers!"

McGonagall looked in shock, while Snape snorted and said, "Figures."

Both boys groaned. The three teachers looked at them, confused.

"Weasly's never going to let us hear the end of this, I just know it!" groaned Harry.

"At least you don't have to share a dorm with him! Between Wizard's chess and Quidditch, I rarely get a moment's peace!"

"Did you try the Silencing Charm on him?" suggested Harry.

"I didn't work," said Mokuba miserably.

The three teachers looked on in amusement.

* * *

"Seeker? But first years never make house teams!" said Ron, excitedly.

"Me'n Harry are the youngest in a century, according to Hooch. Sis is sure to flip when she hears," said Mokuba bored.

"Harry made the team too?" said the twins.

"Yup. Try not to brain him with your bludgers," said Mokuba cheerfully.

"We'll do our best," said Fred.

The twins liked Harry and Blaise, especially when they helped the two escape both Snape and Filch one night after pranking. For Slytherins, they were alright.

Hermione showed Harry the plank with his father's name on it, indicating that he was the seeker for Gryffindor.

"That reminds me. Mum and Dad would probably love to hear about this," said Harry aloud.

"I thought they were dead," said Hermione, before she realized what she had said, "I'm soooo sorry!"

Harry chuckled, "At least you have tact, unlike Weasly. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Mum arranged it so my parents spirits could talk to me. She tied it to my amulet."

Hermione looked at his amulet excitedly, and he decided to let her meet his parents, so to speak.

Harry spotted Mokuba, Blaise and Neville and walked up to them.

"Hey Mokie, I'm going to call my parents. Want to come?"

"Sure!"

"Aren't your parents dead?" said Blaise, confused.

"Yup. But Mum tied their spirits to my bracelet, so I can talk to them whenever I want. I just need something reflective, like a crystal ball or mirror."

"I'll go see if Draco's interested," said Mokie. He found the boy, and he was interested.

Harry went into the Slytherin dorm, grabbed the mirror Sakura had given him, and they went back outside.

With his friend's watching, he touched the amulet to the surface of the mirror, and said "Lily and James."

Two ghostly people appeared on the surface, and beamed at him.

"Harry! We wondered when you'd call!"

"Hi Mum, Dad! Mokuba and I made our house teams!"

"Congratulations! Who are your friends?"

"This is Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, and you know Mokuba already."

James eyes widened at Malfoy, then grinned when he heard Neville's last name.

"I remember the Longbottoms, they were some of my favorite Aurors. Always willing to lend a hand!"

Neville looked shocked to find out that Harry's dad knew his, but he kept quiet. Then James noticed Draco's colors.

"A Malfoy in Ravenclaw, eh? I bet you caused a stir when the Hat sorted you!"

"That's nothing compared to how they reacted to Harry. My godfather was completely shocked. And McGonagall looked positively gobsmacked," said Draco, gleefully.

James took a look at Harry, and had to ask "Why did the hat put you in Slytherin? You're the Heir of Gryffindor!"

Harry chuckled darkly, "It mentioned something about bloodshed if I went there."

"Probably because of Weasly," snorted Draco.

"Weasly? As in Arthur Weasly's son?"

"We can stand the twins, even that stick in the mud Percy. But Ron is insufferable!" said Mokuba.

"It's all about Quidditch, Wizard's chess or the Chudly Cannons with him," said Hermione.

After a few hours of chatting cheerfully with Harry's parents, (and receiving several doubletakes at the sight of the dead Potters), they headed to dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

"You think you're special, don't you Potter?" said Ron.

"What do you want?" asked Harry tiredly.

"Wizard's duel, midnight in the trophy room. You do know what that is, don't you?"

"Naturally. I'm his second," said Draco, irritated.

Ron left, smug. Harry turned to Draco with a look.

"A duel with spells instead of swords or cards. Second is in case one dies. You going?"

"Hell no. If I go, he might get lucky and actually hit me with something that would hurt. Let Filch or Professor Snape have him."

Hermione, Mokuba and Neville walked up to Harry, concerned. Harry laughed, and whispered to them, "Relax. I'm not going. I know better than to look for trouble. Ron's an idiot if he thinks I'd go to a duel."

"Yeah, besides, the cards are more fun!" laughed Mokuba. This prompted Harry and Mokuba to bring out their decks and duel on the table.

"Did you hear? Gryffindor lost a hundred points in a night! Apparently the Weasel and the Irish kid were caught out-of-bounds last night!" said Pansy in an excited whisper.

"Figures he'd actually show. Idiot tried to challenge me to a duel in the trophy room last night."

* * *

The Gryffindors looked like they were about to spit fire at Ron and Seamus. Neville, Hermione and Mokuba sat next to Harry, amused as well. They tried to hold their laughter back as Percy lit into his youngest brother for losing the points.

Ron walked angerily towards the Slytherin table, furious. Seamus and Dean walked with him, Neville clearly was torn between loyalty to his house, and loyalty to his friends. He stood by Harry, clearly choosing his side over Ron's. Harry's only thought after seeing the boy choose sides was, "He's more of a Gryffindor than Ron..."

Ron tried to punch Harry, only to find his hand caught in Harry's. Harry scowled, and Ron flinched when he moved.

"If you're here to play the blame game, try someone who doesn't know the rules," growled Harry.

Ron seemed to regain his nerve a few moments before Snape appeared, followed by McGonagall.

"It's your fault we lost those points!"

"No, it wasn't. I didn't force you to challenge me to a wizard's duel, or to go to the trophy room at midnight. I used common sense."

Ron said something that had McGonagall hiss in anger, and Snape growl. Harry stood there, giving Ron a look.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor for language!" said McGonagall.

"Twenty points for trying to provoke a duel," added Snape. For once McGonagall didn't argue. She dragged Ron by the ear back to his table, Seamus and Dean followed silently.

Snape turned to Harry, and his friends, and said "Forty points to Slytherin for calm thinking. Ten points to Gryffindor for standing up for a Slytherin."

Neville looked shocked, while Hermione patted him on the back in congradulations. They sat back down and finished breakfast before heading to class.

XxXxXx

It was finally the first Quidditch match. Harry and Mokuba looked at each other nervous. Apparently Wood and Flint had tried to keep their positions a secret, and failed abysmally. Fred and George walked up to Harry, in full view of the other Slytherin team members.

"Good luck Harry!"

"We'll try not to knock you off,"

"But we make no promises!"

"Let's just go out there and have fun!" said Harry, grinning.

At least six owls came flying down, three to Harry and Mokuba. Each deposited a large package, identical to both boys.

They read the notes first, and were glad they did.

_"These are your new brooms. Seto, Bakura, Kate and Yugi all wish you luck. These are our way of congratulating you on making the team. Don't open it at the table, or the others will want brooms too. Have fun!_

_Sakura."_

Mokuba and Harry started to their dorms, and were about out of the Hall when they were intercepted by Ron and his cronies.

"What have you two got?" he sneered. Before Mokuba could react, Ron had torn the side off of the package.

A long thin piece of wood was clearly visible. It bore an interesting design of fairies, stars and dragons. A name was visible, though only Mokuba could read it.

"Naichingeru...Nightingale. I've seen these in Kaze Alley. They're supposed to be able to outstrip an English Firebolt by ten knots!" said Mokuba excitedly.

"Bullocks. Nothing outstrips a Firebolt. They're the international standard for all Quidditch leagues!" snorted Ron.

"Never underestimate the Asians," said Harry.

"Really. Especially when most Asian sorcerers can manipulate the elements with practiced ease."

Snape came over, deducted thirty points from Ron, and let the boys head to the library to fully unwrap the packages. Harry looked in shock, as he had gotten the same broom as Mokuba! They only difference was the designs. Where Mokuba had fairies, Harry had a basilisk, moons, and griffins. Mokuba sent both of their brooms into a side portal in the shadow realm, to be held there until practice. He showed Harry how to put his there, and how to retrieve it.

* * *

Harry walked out to the pitch, full of nerves.

"Remember, catch that Snitch or I'll have your head!" growled Flint.

"Hai, hai..."

Harry saw Mokuba, and grinned. Hard to be nervous when your best friend was there against you. They kicked off!

Mokuba and Harry circled the pitch, keeping an eye out for the small golden ball. Harry saw his teammates having trouble. He angled the broom down, breaking the Gryffindor line. He chuckled as he saw Mokuba do the same later.

Harry was still searching, when he felt his broom jerk about. He swore, then tried to find the cause. Mokuba noticed, and flew near him. That's when Harry knew someone was doing this, as his broom went up. His broom jerked more violently, and he had to hold on tight, or be knocked off.

"Harry! What's going on?" yelled Mokuba.

"I think someone is jinxing the broom! Get Wood to call a time out!"

Mokuba flew to Oliver Wood, leader of the Gryffindor team. He explained the situation, and Wood reluctantly called a time out.

Mokuba flew back up, to try and help Harry. But each time, the broom flew higher! Mokuba jumped off the broom, and he heard the rip on his back. Pearly wings, as thin as a dragonfly wing, were coming out of his back. He vaguely heard his teammates gasp in shock as his hair shortened, his eyes turned amethyst and his ears lengthened.

Mokuba flew fast and hard, and he barely reached Harry before the broom could go any higher.

"Harry, get off the broom! If someone is jinxing it, they have to keep eye contact!"

Harry reluctantly complied, as he started to fall, Mokuba grabbed his arm, and held tight. Harry's broom started to fall, as the jinx was dispelled. Mokuba grabbed the broom, and moved them both close to the Slytherin goals. Harry remounted, and the game started up. Everyone was breathless, as Harry and Mokuba continued looking for the Snitch. Harry avoided the spot where the jinx occurred like the plague.

A flash of gold! Harry zoomed, diving to the spot. Mokuba, upon seeing him, followed. Suddenly, Harry's broom catapulted him fowarded onto the turf. Harry sat there, looking like he was about to barf. He spit out something gold with wings. The Snitch!

"Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins!" said Lee Jordan, a friend of the twins. While not enthusiastic about Slytherin winning, he still liked Harry enough to remain baised in his announcing.

* * *

The party in the Slytherin dorm was fun, yet not as loud as the one the twins threw Mokuba upon learning he could fly without a broom. Harry would swear later he could hear it through the walls in his dorm room.

* * *

It was Halloween. Mokuba seemed to channel Sakura as he brought out a few things that made his friends look at him strangely.

"What are these, and why do you have them," said Draco warily.

"It's All Hallow's Eve. Sis sent these over with very strict orders."

"What orders?" asked Harry, nervous.

"Pick one and wear it all day. This only comes once a year. She also said if we do this, she'll send us pranks for April Fool's."

Fred and George, upon hearing this, joined them. Soon, everyone had a costume. Harry had a pair of stag antlers, Mokuba had fae shirt, pants and ears, Draco immediately claimed a pair of dragon wings and horns. Fred and George wore fox ears, in honor of the Marauders. Neville had what appeared to be tree limbs. Blaise wore a vampire outfit. Even Hermione joined in. She wore a pair of cat's ears, and a bushy tail. Sakura had animated all of them to move as if they were normal animal parts. When McGonagall saw them, at first she was skeptical, but she commended them on the realistic nature of their costumes.

"Twenty points to Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw for getting into the spirit," was all she would say.

People stared, but they really didn't care. When they were in Charms, Hermione was unlucky enough to be paired with Ron. Harry sat between Neville and Mokuba.

"Remember the nice wrist movement! Swish and flick. Now, repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa."

Ron tried repeatedly to get his feather to float, and it stubbornly refused to do so.

"You're saying it wrong! Win-gar-dium Levi-O-sa. You have to make the gar nice and long," said Hermione exasperated.

"Why don't you do it, if you're so clever!" growled Ron, annoyed.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

"Twenty points to Gryffindor!" said Flitwick.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" said Harry, and his feather rose to the same height as Hermione. Then Mokuba and Neville copied him. Although Neville's only went up a few inches.

"Neville, let me see your wand for a minute," said Harry. Neville let him look, as he knew he could trust Harry, despite being a Slytherin.

"Did you get this at Ollivander's?" he asked.

"No...it was my dad's."

"You might want to ask your Gran about getting your own wand. This one is clearly not meant for you," Harry advised quietly.

"Maybe she'll get me one for Christmas."

"You can probably get a good one at Daisuke's. His wands don't carry the tracking spell like the ones from here do," said Mokuba.

"Ollivander's has tracking spells?" said Hermione, confused.

"Sis said that's the Ministries main way to track underage wizardry. Which is why I got mine at Daisuke's Maho no Tsue. Japan has better laws."

After they left Charms, Ron was heard mocking Hermione. She walked past him quickly, but not before she slapped him hard. Harry could see the tears on her face. Harry glared at Ron angrily.

"I think you need to learn manners, Weasel," said Harry coldly. Everyone withing hearing stared at him in complete shock. This was the first time Harry had acted well...Slytherinish. He went to Hermione, trying to calm down.

"Mr. Potter! Why are you standing outside the girl's lavatory?" said McGonagall sharply.

"Ron Weasly insulted Hermione with her in earshot. I was debating whether it was worth the week's detention I'd get to calm her down."

"What, exactly, did Mr. Weasly say?"

"He made a tactless comment about her having no friends. Which is quite untrue, as she does have several in our study group."

McGonagall seemed to think about this, then said "Thirty points to Slytherin. I will talk to her. Unless you know of some female friends?"

"Draco tolerates her, Blaise doesn't care one way or the other, Neville, Mokuba and I think she's brilliant, no matter what her bloodline is. But unfortunately, she's the only girl in our group."

McGonagall went inside, and eventually brought out a still crying Hermione. She sniffed as she said, "Did you really mean what you said to her?"

"Absolutely! Hermione, we don't care what that baka said, you're our friend."

"Not to mention you're like a mini-Sis," said Mokuba from behind.

"That's true. We took like seven trips to the library while I was there, and that was during a week! You'd love mum Hermione, she's a bookworm too!"

It took some more time, but eventually they calmed her down. She went with them to the Great Hall, and sat with Harry at the Slytherin table. A few whined about it, until he pointed out that it would annoy Ron. That shut them up.

* * *

The feast was finally getting underway, when Professor Quirell came running in, screaming, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons!"

Harry cursed, as he didn't remember seeing Neville at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked to Blaise, and said "I don't see Neville, and I remember some of the other Gryffindorks making fun of his outfit."

"You think he might be in trouble?"

"Hermione would have been if McGonagall hadn't gone in and brought her out. Hang on..."

Harry silently signaled to Mokuba and he nodded. He and Hermione, as well as Draco quickly snuck out of the Great Hall to look for Neville.

They ran into the boy's restroom, and found Neville, upset. Next thing they knew, a troll burst in.

"Spread out! Give me a minute to think of something!" yelled Harry.

The troll was surrounded. Harry did the only spell that would come to mind as he yelled, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club in the troll's hand floated, then fell with a sickening thud. An audible crack is heard, as the troll suffered a massive concussion. Snape, Quirrel and McGonagall ran in, with Dumbledore close behind.

"What happened?" said McGonagall in shock.

"When the Professor ran in with news of the troll, I remembered the Gryffindors teasing Neville about his costume. I didn't see him at the table, so I warned Mokuba, who brought Draco. I just assumed no one had told him of the troll, so we went and looked for him. By the time we found him, the troll burst in," explained Harry.

"Why would your own house taunt you?" asked Dumbledore.

"They said my costume wasn't very scary..." mumbled Neville.

"Obviously they never read Lord of the Rings," snorted Mokuba.

"Why do you say that?" asked McGonagall.

"Because sis sent him an Ent costume. Ents are walking talking trees, who can do about as much damage as that Whomping Willow when angered."

McGonagall seemed to remember the situation, as she said, "Twenty points from Slytherin, Mr. Potter. For your severe lack of judgement."

"Sixty points each for going to the aid of a fellow student, to Slytherin, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," countered Snape. McGonagall silently agreed. They all hurried out as the troll twitched.

XXXXX

"Quite an eventful evening wouldn't you say?" said Dumbledore.

"Indeed."

"I must admit, I was surprised to see young Harry go to the aid of a Gryffindor, whilst he is in Slytherin. There may be hope for him yet."

"If I may Headmaster, the only time I've seen Potter act like his housemates is when Ronald Weasly is involved," said McGonagall.

"I believe Mr. Weasly is the one responsible for Longbottom's distress earlier. I saw him and Finnigan earlier alone with the boy," agreed Snape.

"Mr. Weasly also gave Ms. Granger some distress after their Charms class. If Mr. Potter hadn't brought the matter to my attention, it could easily have put both of them at risk."

"I believe a month's detention is sufficient for this situation," said Dumbledore.

"Five weeks, if you add the one I already gave him for being out of bounds earlier," McGonagall reminded him.

The two teachers left Dumbledore to his musings.

XxXxXx

_Damn! The pawn I choose is too foolhardy! Alienating both the Fae child and my original Golden boy was not what I had in mind! If only that blasted hat had done as I told him, none of this would have happened. And damn that brat for not going into the trophy room..._

_Dumbledore was furious. Nothing was going according to his carefully laid out plan. First the Fae child and his precious Boy-who-lived went into the wrong house. Then the youngest Weasly boy turns out to be hot-headed and alienates the two before the classes start. At least the Mudblood did as she was supposed too, making friends with the two. The only problem is that the girl had geniunely become their friend._

Dumbledore tried to come up with a way to put things back on schedule.

XxXxXx

Ron and Seamus were heading downstairs for their first detention. Ron was complaining the entire way. Even more so when Filch told them they would be going into the Forest with Hagrid! By the time they returned to the castle, Ron was pale as a ghost!

He whined loudly about the black robed creature that had almost attacked him, and drank a unicorn's blood! Mokuba looked thoughtful as he said, "That somewhat sounds like a Dementor...except they don't drink blood of any kind. And it definitely couldn't be a vampire..."

Everyone went to bed...except Mokuba. He opened his PDA, and sent Harry an IM. Harry opened his eyes when he heard the light ping. Only one person in Hogwarts would bother him at that time of night, and get away with it. He opened his IM board and read, "Ron came back from detention."

**

* * *

Pronglet:** So? I take it that it was him I heard whining while trying to meditate?

**DeviousFae**: Probably. Anyway, they ran into something evil in the forest. Something that drank a unicorn's blood.

**Prongslet:** too bad it didn't kill him too. At least then we'd be spared from the whining. :(

**DeviousFae:** True. It sounded like Nee-chan's description of a Dementor, but they don't drink blood. And I seriously doubt a vamp would leave the baka unscathed.

**Prongslet:** Want me to text Mum?

**DeviousFae:** Wait and See sounds good right now. Besides, if we wake her up, we're DOOMED T-T

**Prongslet:** I'm heading to bed. TTYL in the morning?

**DeviousFae:** Sure. Nite.

* * *

Harry and Mokuba went to breakfast, half-awake. The two cringed when they heard Ron's annoying voice complaining about the detention.

Finally, they went to Percy and asked if he could rein in his youngest brother. He did so with a flourish, as he deducted more points. Ron whined again, and Gryffindor lost another five. He finally dropped to grumbling, before Percy could deduct even more from their dwindling hourglass. The other Gryffindors looked to be out for Ron's blood, as they really wanted to out Slytherin for House Cup this year.

By lunch Ron was being shunned, as he was rightfully blamed as the sole person responsible for losing the most points. Which resulted in the twins pranking him mercilessly, to the approval of the entire school.

* * *

As Harry was meditating with his friends, he saw something odd. Three different animals were in front of his spiritual body. A stag, a wolf, and a fox with four tails. He mentioned this to Mokuba, who grinned.

"Sounds to me like you have three animagus forms."

"How do I change into them?"

"Sis will help you. In fact, she said she's got something special for you planned for Christmas..." hinted Mokuba.

Harry knew better than to ask what it was, as Mokuba had the same look as the twins when they were plotting something very devious. Draco had a strange look as he mentioned an animal as well. Hermione, Neville and Blaise all reported the same thing, an animal appeared before them whilst meditating.

Draco-_winged panther_

Hermione-_a large cat with red ears, and a tail with a white tip_

Blaise-_black labrador_

Neville-_gray wolf_

Mokuba-_small white dragon with sapphire eyes_

"Should we e-mail her and ask?"

"How about we turn this into a summer project? That way, Dumbledork can't do squat about it if he learns," suggested Mokuba.

Harry went up to the Owlry, and decided to send a letter to Moony. Much to his surprise, he got one back the next morning.

_

* * *

Dear Harry,_

_I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you again. Especially concerning the animagus news! Your father was an unregistered Animagus, a stag. Sirius was a dog, whilst Peter turned into a small chubby grey rat. I remember there being an extensive collection of books in the library on how to turn into an animagus. But I believe a majority were on the potion, and how to master only ONE creature transformation. Seeing as how you mention Ms. Hikari could do two, I reccomend asking her for help._

_Congradulations on winning your match. Though it stills shocks me to hear your a Slytherin, please thank Mokuba for me for dispelling the jinx on your broom. I Sirius-ly doubt Snape would do something to one of his own. (And yes, you did read that right. I just couldn't resist that jab at Sirius. Knowing him, he would have loved it.)_

_Concerning the item which you mentioned, I don't think I can buy a computer at this time._

_Yours in spirit,_

_Uncle Moony._

* * *

Harry walked the halls in his spirit form that night, mapping places of interest. Like the hidden door that Hogwarts showed as a place of GREAT interest. He ghosted through, and looked in shock at the large mounds of muggle and wizard sweets. He remembered Snape mentioning Dumbledore's candy addiction...and had an evil grin. He had to ask..."Is this Dumbledore's secret stash?"

Hogwarts sent an affirmative.

'Hmm...does Dumbledore have Diabetes?'

Unknown...

'How much sugar does Dumbledore eat a day?'

Two loud thumps.

'So about two bags of candy, or two hundred kilos?'

Bags.

'If he doesn't have diabetes by now, I'd be shocked. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would LOVE to know where Dumbledore hides his sweets...and switch them with fruits and sugar-free substitutes...'

Hogwarts seemed to glow with joy at the thought of such a prank.

'Let's do this by the weekend then. I'm sure the house elves would be thrilled to help. I'll ask the twins where the kitchens are...'

Hogwarts sent a picture of a still life painting, then of someone tickling the pear. A door appeared, showing the elves in uniforms.

Harry grinned, and sent a silent thank you. He continued on to the third floor and wandered into a door that was locked. He gasped in shock at the sight of the three headed dog. He silently walked past the dog, and jumped down the trapdoor.

He phased through the mass of plants, past the flying keys, avoiding the gaint wizard's chess board and troll, and jumping past the flames to see...a room. With a bizarre mirror. He walked up to the mirror...and saw Sakura with his parents, chatting. He saw himself, sitting between them, and gave himself a wink. His mirror self held out a blood red stone, and put it in his ghostly right pocket.

Jolted, Harry woke up to find...a stone in his right pocket. Curious as to what he had been given, he left it there and went to sleep. Only a month till Christmas...surely Sakura knew what it was.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura hated shopping. Sure, she enjoyed shopping for books and tech...but clothes were the bane of her existence. Made even worse because Kaiba had told her in no uncertain terms that since Mokuba was staying at Hogwarts this Christmas, they would be hosting an adult party at his mansion.

Translation: Buy a dress that looks good, because you're helping me entertain, whether you like it or not.

So here she was, buying a dress. She walked in, and saw the cloths, and picked one out. Following the advice of someone who clearly knew more about fashion than her, she went with an around the neck, backless dress with white trimmings, a dragon around the waist, and midnight blue in color. Stars lined the neck piece, with a crescent moon pinning the dress up around the neck.

She also bought a second dress, for casual wear. She had plans for that one...plans that would make Harry very happy.

* * *

Vernon Dursly was not a pleasant man to deal with. So when a rather stunning woman walks into his office, rumors were immediately started. From Dursly cheating on his wife with a paid woman, to a girlfriend who obviously wanted to break up with him.

"Mr. Dursly."

"Ma'am."

"I'm here to make a deal with you. One you might find of great interest."

"What sort of deal?"

"One that would permanently remove your 'nephew' from your life."

Vernon sat up straight at that. A deal which would get rid of the freak? He had never wanted to keep the boy...he only did it out of fear of his kind.

"I'm listening."

An hour later, the papers were signed in triplicate, and the woman left. None of the workers at Grunnings knew what had happened, but Vernon Dursly was happy when she left.

* * *

A week later, and Sakura had finally located Remus Lupin. After bringing the will to the Ministry's attention, she proposed a way to follow it, and still keep Remus from having custody. Fudge was all for it, so long as the boy was out of a werewolf's house. All she needed was to get Harry's signature.

Remus was thrilled with her plan, and agreed to it. While she took care of Harry in day-to-day matters, Remus would be his Magical Guardian. He would be kept in the loop with Harry's schooling, and his life.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve. Harry, Mokuba, the twins, Ron, and Draco were staying at Hogwarts, as well as others outside the group. Harry and the twins got into a massive snowball fight, with Mokuba nailing both parties with snowballs. Afterwards, they headed to Hagrid's which was closer than the castle. Harry brought up the dog, and found out the name. He grinned wildly when he said, "Fluffy? It's more original than Cerberus at least!"

When Harry entered the Slytherin dorm with Draco, who was alone in Ravenclaw, he was greeted by a certain brown haired menace.

"Mum!"

"That's your mum? Why is she wearing cat ears?"

"Because I can. Harry, I need your help with something."

"What is it Mum."

"I need you to sign a few papers for me. You'll find out what they are tomorrow."

Harry walked over to the table, and signed the papers, fully trusting her. She had Hoshi deliver them to the Ministry. She then turned and looked at Draco.

"And you must be Draco. I love the name, by the way."

"Yes ma'am," he said numbly. He was still in shock over the sheer craziness that came off her in waves.

"Please don't call me ma'am...it makes me feel old. Shall we shock Mokie and these twins you told me about?" she grinned evilly.

The fat lady looked at them, and said drunkenly, "Password?"

"Fairy Wings."

The door opened, and Sakura snuck in. She stood behind Mokuba, and said, "Woof!"

"Ack! Sis! What're you doing here?"

"Had a few papers for Harry to sign. I'll be here for two more hours before I'm forced to return to the 'mature' party your brother is hosting," she said these words with a grimace.

"He made you buy a dress, didn't he?"

"Want to see?"

She shifted into her more mature side, complete with her new dress. Every boy in the room gasped in shock.

"You boys like?"

They couldn't speak...which made her grin evilly.

"Now Har-bear...I believe you mentioned Dumbledork's secret candy stash?"

* * *

Harry woke up to a sight he never thought he'd see in his lifetime. A pile of presents all for him! Draco had given him most of his stash, which he really didn't care about to begin with. Mokuba bought him a few games for his computer, Seto sent him several books on wandless magic, Sakura sent him a clipping from the Daily Prophet which made his day, as well as a training program for Moony, who had digivolved into Gabumon a week ago. Blaise, Hermione and Neville all sent him various books on their favorite subject.

_"Boy-Who-Lived adopted by American Ambassador to Japan!_

_Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was adopted Christmas Eve by the Ambassador to the Japanese Ministry, Sakura Hikari. His magical guardian is a British native, Remus Lupin. It has also come to the attention that the executor of the Potter's last will completely disregarded their wishes by sending the boy to his muggle relatives. Dumbledore declined to comment."_

A rather poorly wrapped parcel addressed to him with a letter mentioning it belonged to his father was under a sweater sent by the Weasly Matriarch. Harry knew that Ron probably wasn't responsible and figured the twins must have informed her of his comment of actually enjoying Christmas for once. Draco got one as well, much to his visible shock. Harry opened Hagrid's gift, a wooden flute. He grinned...this was the best Christmas he'd ever had!

Draco's jaw dropped when Harry unwrapped the package. It was an Invisiblity cloak!

His shock was nothing compared to Dumbledore, who looked disturbed that his golden boy had been taken out of his hands. (That, and his stash had mysteriously disappeared. Hehehe...)

Harry went into the Restricted Section, and raided it with a will. A simple charm that Sakura had taught him came in handy, as he avoided the trapped tomes. He ran into the mirror again...and placed the fake rock in it as his new Mum had instructed.

_Flashback_

_"Harry, where did you get this?"_

_"I got it whilst meditating. It came out of a mirror."_

_"This is a Philosipher's stone. Extremely rare. It can turn any metal into gold and grant immortality. What I'd love to know is why it's here."_

_"What should I do with it?"_

_"I'll hold onto it. But you put this one back in the mirror. We don't want a student to get ahold of this."_

_End Flashback_

Ron gave Harry a strange look, as he finally asked "How did you know I liked the Chudly Cannons? And why did you give me that book?"

"Neville told me, and I figured since I never usually get anything for Christmas doesn't mean I can't be polite."

The terror twins came up to Harry and thanked him for the books on muggle pranks. Percy thanked him for the book on Wizarding Laws. Mokuba grinned over his book of fairy lore. McGonagall received a book on cats, and Snape tried not to openly smile at Harry. He was thrilled over his rare potion ingredients and tomes. Dumbledore consoled himself with his four new socks in neon colors. Sprout looked very pleased with her bonsai trees, Flitwick had three new books on Japanese charms, Sinistra had a complete set of the book series based on the Stargate tv show.

Hagrid looked very happy with his book on Japanese demons. Draco grinned at Harry for his new bracelet...which Mokuba informed him was a Serpent Night Dragon.

All in all, best Christmas ever!

* * *

Back at Kaiba's Manor...

"Since the Vice President is currently overseas, we are serving alcoholic beverages," said Seto.

After the cheering died down, he gave a smirk.

"Aren't you planning on joining us, Hikari?"

"Yeah, yeah...you know I hate formal wear!" grumbled Sakura. She came down the stairs, in one inch heels.

Everyone stared in shock. Sakura Hikari, the embodiment of craziness and evil...was wearing a feminine dress, heels, a star and moon necklace with diamonds and sapphires, dangling amethyst earrings in the shape of wings, and what appeared to be lipstick. Even Kaiba was dumbstruck with the change.

He held out his arm, and helped her down. He hoped like hell he wasn't blushing.

Sakura grinned, as she said with a laugh, "Take a picture. I'm sure Mokie will love this."

He grinned back...he couldn't wait to hear his younger brother's reaction to a feminine, mature Sakura.

"So any news on the adoption?"

"Yup. Harry Potter is now Harry Potter-Hikari. Remus is his Magical Guardian, so that means Dumbledore can't order Harry around anymore."

"What are you plans for the summer?"

"Lots of swimming...possibly letting Harry meet his Godfather and Uncle."

He left her at the food table, which had all sorts of things...including pepperoni pizza and turkey. Her grin at the pizza more than made up for the whining of the cook. She grabbed a beer, a full plate and sat down. An hour later the dancing started, and she laughed when Kaiba dragged her to the dance floor. Spinning around and around, she vaguely wondered if this was real.

She directed Kaiba to the mistletoe, oblivious to his protests. Much to the amusement of his staff, she gave him a peck on the cheek. His blushing made up for whatever he would plan later.

"Are you drunk?" he growled, blushing heavily.

"Are you kidding? Need I remind you that I'm not a lightweight here? Besides, I'm still under the legal limit, yet I'm not even tipsy."

She sat down again, after dancing with random employees. She briefly wondered about leaving, then decided against it. She walked outside, to clear her head and wasn't surprised when Seto joined her.

"I hope your not planning on driving back."

"Hell no. Not only would it be an idiotic idea, but I doubt I'd make it up the stairs in this. Any chance I could crash here?"

"How did you know I was going to suggest just that?" he asked, his eyes amused.

The party cooled down, and the yearly bonus was given out. Sakura was directed to a room with an adjoining bathroom. A spare change of clothes was left next to the shower, and she fell asleep.

* * *

Next morning, she woke up and washed. After putting on the blue jeans and sweater, she went downstairs. Kaiba greeted her with a moan. Apparently he drank too much. She ate breakfast in silence...as she looked at the digital pictures that were taken. She openly grinned at her outfit. She looked better in that than she thought!

* * *

Mokuba stared in shock at the photo of Seto and Sakura under the mistletoe. Then he started laughing uncontrollably. The twins came over, looked at the picture and grinned.

"So this is the infamous Seto Kaiba?" asked Ron.

"The brown haired guy is Seto. I think Sakura-nee shocked him with that get-up," chuckled Mokuba weakly.

When Harry saw Sakura in the outfit, he was shocked. He vaguely wondered what his dad would say. So he asked.

"That's your new step-mum? Damn, she could give Lily a run for her money!"

His mother, upon hearing this, took a page from Mokuba's book and hit James upside the head with a thick tome. Harry laughed out loud.

Harry and Mokuba were outside, challenging Hagrid to an all out snowball war with the twins on their side. Hermione, Neville and Blaise walked up, amused. Mainly due to the fact that Hagrid was slaughtering them...big time. Soon the three joined forces with the others, and Hagrid was on the run. Laughing, they all made their way up to the castle, soaking wet. Hermione thanked Harry for the book on House elves, Blaise was happy for the glow-in-the-dark solar system, and Neville was very happy with the field guild for herbology.

They went back to class, enjoying the time they had until summer. Everyone congratulated Harry for getting a new Mum. All too soon, the end of the year exams were arriving. Hermione seemed to be channeling her head of house, as she pushed them hard on each subject. Draco proved to be a natural at getting things to stick longer than five minutes in their head.

* * *

Several grueling exams later...

"It would be great if this ruddy scar would just quit hurting!" said Harry.

"What do you think it means?" asked Hermione.

"Probably a warning," suggested Draco.

"Most likely...but of what?"

"I couldn't be that dragon..." joked Mokuba.

Hagrid had won an illegal dragon before Christmas. Originally they were thinking about sending it to Charlie, the second oldest Weasly boy. Then Mokuba suggested sending it to his brother, who loved dragons about as much as Hagrid did. A week later, Hagrid agreed to let Sakura come by and take Norbert away. Now his pet dragon was safe-guarding Kaiba Corp's main computers. Hagrid was welcome any time to see him.

The one thing that stuck to Harry was the fact that someone had asked about Hagrid's three-headed dog. Then it finally hit him!

"Someone must be after the stone!" he said aloud.

"What stone?"

"I found this red stone while meditating a few months back. Sakura has it now, but I'm betting that whatever was in the Forest is trying to steal it."

"What should we do?"

"Well I saw Dumbledore leave, so he's out."

"Snape! McGonagall may not believe you," said Draco.

Harry went to Snape, and told him his suspicions. Instead of being ignored, Snape went straight to the third floor and looked. A harp was in the room, silent. The trapdoor was wide open.

"Professor, who could be after the stone?"

"Never you mind. He won't get past the final defense anyway."

"Would it happen to be a mirror?"

"How did...never mind. We shall leave the thief to Dumbledore when he returns," said Snape, setting a spell over the door in case the thief tried to escape.

A few hours later, Harry was summoned to the Headmaster's office. He cleared his mind, and brought up his barriers. Sure enough, when he entered the study, he felt something brush against them.

"Hello Harry."

"Headmaster."

"I must admit, that I am surprised that you knew about the stone. Professor Quirell has been killed on the third floor."

"Why was he after the Stone?"

"It seems Voldemort had taken control of him in Albania. Quirell was helping him by drinking the unicorn's blood. Strangely enough, when he obtained the stone from the mirror, he used it. He apparently died screaming from a very nasty magical reaction."

"I'm not surprised. That stone was a fake."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed. Harry felt something try to break his barriers. He stiffened, and pushed his shields to max in an instant.

"Back...off...NOW," Harry said angrily.

"Harry, where is the stone?"

"Far away from you."

"Harry that stone is dangerous. I must insist you tell me where it is."

"Mum has it. She told me exactly what it was, and what it can do. So she had me replace it with a fake to prevent the students from getting it."

Harry was dismissed, and actually growled when he escaped. He went and put a complaint in with his head of house. Snape looked livid. He told Harry that he would talk to Dumbledore about this, and if he didn't like the answers, he would leave.

Harry looked at his marks...then grinned when he found out that everyone who was in the study group got an Outstanding. Ron Weasly was being threatened with repeating a year, because of lousy grades. The twins invited him to the Burrow over the summer, and Harry smiled. He went to Hagrid's one last time, and got a photo album full of pictures of his parents. Harry thanked him profusely, and was smiling the entire day.

* * *

Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express, in a very good mood. He entered the compartment with Mokuba, Draco, Hermione and Neville. The twins were plotting, and the general consensus was to avoid them. Blaise walked in, with a grin.

"What did you do?" asked Harry.

"Ron is in major trouble with Percy."

"How?"

"He tried to hex Crabbe and Goyle."

Crabbe and Goyle, to the collective shock of the group, had actually joined them and passed their exams with an Acceptable. It seemed that Draco's influence with the subjects over-rode the in-breeding of Crabbe and Goyle Sr.

Harry bought some Blood Lollies for Bakura, and frogs for Kaiba. They discussed what they would do next year.

"I think we should prank the school."

"What would we call ourselves? I don't want to go through all that trouble and not claim credit for it," said Draco.

"I would suggest Marauders...but that's out."

"How about Shinobi?"

"Ninja? Why?"

"Naruto. Sis loves that show, and the main character is a demon-possessed prankster who wants to lead his village and earn respect."

"That doesn't sound good," said Draco.

"How about ANBU?"

"Is it from Naruto?"

"They're the black ops in Naruto. They do all sorts of undercover missions, and wear animal masks."

Harry grinned.

"Perfect. So, the Marauding ANBU?"

It was decided...Hogwarts wouldn't know what hit it.

Sakura and Kaiba meet the two at the train station. Mokuba glomped his brother, thrilled to see him. Harry went up to his new mum, and hugged her tightly.

Sakura opened the portal to Japan, and dropped the brothers off at Kaiba Corp. Sakura took Harry on an extended tour of Domino, ending with the Kame Game store. Yugi was happy to see them, and Harry bought some cards to make a new duelist deck.

Yugi played against Harry, helping him refine his style. Meanwhile, Sakura was busy as she used two ovens to get the party ready. Around five, Yugi took Harry to Kate's old apartment.

* * *

"WELCOME HOME HARRY!" was blazing on a banner across the living room. Harry was grinning from ear to ear. Especially when a man in second-hand clothes, graying brown hair, and wearied smile walked up to him and said, "Hello Harry."

"Who are you?"

"Does the name Uncle Moony ring a bell?" he said with a familiar mischievous look in his eyes.

"Let's get this party started!" said Sakura, grinning.

Three hours later...

"Mum, thank you!"

"No need to thank me, Har-bear. This is the first time you've had a party just for you, isn't it?"

Harry went to bed, happy for the first time in his life. He woke up to chaos.

* * *

"RAWR!" a panther's cry was heard, as he woke up. Apparently someone had awakened Sakura before ten.

"Ohayo, kaa-san," yawned Harry. The panther blinked, then gave a bizarre grin. It shifted into Sakura who glomped him.

"Ohayo Har-bear."

Poor Remus looked like he was about to have a coronary. Harry grinned at him.

"Mum doesn't like waking up before ten. She tends to lash out at people who wake her."

"Damn right I don't. I can't stand morning people."

"Is breakfast ready?"

"I woke her up to tell her that..." mumbled Remus, who had recovered.

He heard twin laughter from the two.

XXXXX

Harry and Yugi dueled each other practically every day. Harry improved leaps and bounds. Every once in a while, he noticed someone following him. He growled, starting to get annoyed. He'd heard about the Death Munchers...and whoever was following him was wearing their outfit...or something way too similiar. He walked into the park near the apartment.

As he walked the path, he noticed a spot out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and it vanished. He started walking again, and it reappeared. Curious, he wandered in the general direction of the vanishing place. Out of the blue, he came to a beautiful spot with a crystal clear pond, and a zen feeling. A small snake was curled up on a rock, sunbathing. Harry had read a book of snakes, and the one on the rock didn't fit with any of the known species. It looked like one from North America called a water moccasin.

Harry turned around, and saw his stalker still looking for him. He sighed, and got into an indian-style position. He set about clearing his mind, and it brushed against the snake on the rock. Harry was highly amused to see the snake give him a look. He could sense that the snake had way too much intelligence to be normal.

Harry spent a good five hours like that, just meditating. He didn't even notice the snake had crawled into his lap and was taking a nap there. As he slowly opened his eyes, he noticed the snake, and gently placed it near the pond. He started to walk back to the apartment, and yawned widely.

XXXXX

"Hey there Har-bear! Looks like someone could use a nap!" laughed Sakura, who was on lunch break.

Sakura sat down on the couch, and Harry joined her. Her lunch break was two hours long, mainly because she'd gotten the filing down to an art. Soon his head was on her lap, and he was snoring. Remus walked in, and smiled. He had bought the apartment next to Kate's old one. (With a lot of help from Kaiba.)

"How's life as Kaiba Corp's best magical scientist?"

"Much better than my old wizarding life."

"Having a full week off every month rocks, doesn't it? So long as you stay in the Shadow Realm every full moon anyway."

"Actually, I think Moony prefers it this way too. He allowed to freely roam in the Shadow Realm, anyone bitten won't turn, and we're being fed regularly."

"I could always merge you two. With Moony's consent anyway."

Kaiba called then; Remus handed her the phone, not wanting to wake Harry. It was well known to the group that Sakura, Aki, Kate and Harry didn't sleep well at nights.

"Hikari here. What's up?"

"Mind helping Mokie regulate the tournament I'm going to set up next week? The duel disks are up and running finally. And they're mage-friendly."

"Why not have Harry help him? I'm sure he could be a judge and duel."

"That reminds me. If Lupin is there, tell him he just got a raise. We never would have found how to make the disks magic friendly without his input."

"Will do. Anything I need to do for the rest of the day?"

"Take the day off. I'm in a good mood so you'll still be paid."

"Yatta! Arigato!"

"Well?" asked Remus quietly.

"You've got a raise, and I've got the rest of the day off. Want to flip for who cooks?"

"It's my turn. YOU get to wake the cub up for dinner."

"Hai, hai!"

(Sakura was thrilled that Lupin could cook as well or better than she could. Now she could take a break!)


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura walked down by the river, ignoring her stalker. Finally, she turned and brought out her new duel disk. She couldn't duel that well, but Tsuki could. Her stalker laughed cruelly.

"Brave girly. I challenge you to a duel. If I win, I take your Satelitte Cannon. You win, you get this special dragon."

"Fine by me. Eat my dust, boya!" said Sakura, before she switched to Tsuki.

Ten turns later...

"Satellite Cannon, take out Revival Jam, and the rest of his life points!" cried Tsuki. After she played Stop Defense, her Satellite Cannon waited until she gave the order to obliterate her opponent. Her rarest card...and possibly her best. She still found it hard to believe she got it out of a boring Tournament issued pack. ((Which in general only has three cards.))

The robed man fell backward, completely wiped out. Sakura calmly walked to him, and took the dragon he showed her.

_"Slifer the Sky Dragon? Why does this remind me so much of Osiris?" _murmered Tasogare.

Her eyes turned to her left arm...Bakura's christmas gift glistening for all the world to see. That's when it hit her! Slifer WAS Osiris!

_Flashback..._

_As everyone gathered at Kate's old apartment, now Sakura's private one since she and Kate switched places, Sakura was surprised to see a gift for her from Bakura of all people! Her curiousity peaked, she waited until it was her turn to open the gifts. She could see out of the corner of her eye as Bakura switched with Ryou. No one else noticed this, so she opened the gift._

_Everyone's eyes widened as she opened it to reveal a silver armband with rubies encrusted all over. A beautiful red dragon with two mouths, long body, and large wings. It fit snugly around her left arm, and didn't shift in the least._

_"Who gave you that, Sakura-chan? Kaiba?" asked Jounouchi._

_"Would you believe me if I said the name on the tag was Bakura? Next time I see him, he's getting a big hug...maybe even a kiss," said Sakura with a grin, looking straight at him. Bakura blushed, and switched with Ryou to hide it._

_(The next week, Bakura was Gaming some bullies when Sakura snuck up from behind and glomped him. His face turned an interesting shade of crimson when she gave him a peck on the cheek. Ryou was still laughing over that for a week straight.)_

_End Flashback..._

Harry took one look at Sakura's new card, and told her simply, that it was radiating a LOT of shadow power. Sakura merely took out one of her newest books, and placed it in the spot where her bookmark was. ((The cover was orange, and had a circle with a line going through it. It was the most recent of the Icha Icha series.))

Harry was snickering when he saw her choice. Then she turned to him and had a evil grin.

"I just recieved a letter from the idiots that work under Fudge. Guess who has two all-day visitor's passes to Azkaban?"

"You mean we can go see my Godfather?"

"I asked Lupin if he wanted to join us, but he told me in no uncertain terms that he would rather go into the Shadow Realm without the protection bracelet."

Harry laughed, and had to ask, "What do we do if he's innocent?"

"We convince Fudge to send him here, where he would ACTUALLY get a trial, have him released, then put him to work with Remus."

XXXXX

Sakura Apparated them to the docks. She got her first glance at the Dementors, and scowled.

"What's wrong Mum?" asked Harry, noticing this.

_"I didn't create them with Osiris and Horus just to have them guard an English prison!"_ said Tasogare, angry.

"YOU created them?"

"With help. Come on, let's go see Sirius."

Harry walked past the Dementor, and didn't really notice the temperature change at all. Or the fact that his bracelet was glowing. He DID notice that the creatures were hovering near his Mum though. The power that radiated off her drew them in droves.

Tasogare, annoyed, opened a portal and said clearly "Return to the Shadows from whence you were born, and fulfill your true duty!"

A hundred Dementors vanished, and the mood immediately lightened. Harry would swear he felt the walls sigh in great relief. They continued to the interragation cell, and were met by a thin man with guant cheeks, greasy hair that would put Snape to shame, and hallowed eyes.

He looked up, and his eyes widened when he saw Harry. The eyes lost the hallowed look for a moment as he said, "James."

"That's my middle name, yes. You must be Sirius Black. Uncle Moony's talked of you and dad fondly."

"Hello, Mr. Black."

"Call me Sirius, please. If you say Mr. Black I'll want to see if my father is standing behind me scowling," said Sirius, amused.

Sakura laughed, and said, "I thought Harry would enjoy meeting his godfather. Even IF the Ministry morons say he's a convicted murderer."

Sirius talked about James Potter for a while, making Harry very happy. When he mentioned Moony and the pranks they pulled on McGonagall, Sakura cracked up. But when he mentioned Snape, Harry felt it his duty to defend his head of house...

"So to be blunt you tormented this Snape fellow," said Harry, not so amused.

"Pretty much. Then he turns Death Eater and becomes a double agent. That really threw us for a loop."

"You do realize you're talking about my head of house, right?"

"What house are you in?" asked Sirius, eagerly.

"Slytherin. And that was against Dumbledork's orders for Gryffindor."

That really threw Sirius for a loop, as he sputtered, "But you're the Heir of Gryffindor!"

"Dad told me that, and reacted the EXACT same way when he found out. According to the hat, if I HAD gone to Gryffindor, there would have been bloodshed. Ron Weasly would have been the only one killed though."

"He even made Seeker when he caught a Gryffindor's Rememberall and gave it back."

"Seeker? In your first year? James would have been proud."

"He was. So was Mum when I talked to them."

"But Harry, they're dead."

Harry took out a plate-sized mirror and said clearly, "Lily and James."

"Harry! How's life treating you?" asked James happy.

"Fine Dad. Remember Sirius Black?"

"My best friend and YOUR Godfather? Why do you ask?"

"Turn around Dad..." said Harry amused.

"Woah. You _Sirius_-ly need a bath Padfoot! You'd put old Snivillus to shame!"

Sirius, upon seeing James' ghost was gobsmacked. But when he heard the bad joke about his name, he finally let out a laugh. A weak laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Harry let Sirius and his dad talk a bit, then joined in, filling Sirius in on his life at Hogwarts. When he got to the part about the study group, and Draco being in Ravenclaw, Sirius grinned.

"Study group or pranking menace?"

"We're calling ourselves the Marauding ANBU."

"ANBU?"

"I showed Harry and Mokie this show called Naruto. The black ops in the series are called ANBU. They're ninja who wear animal masks," explained Sakura.

Still confused, but willing to let it drop, he asked, "Who is in this group?"

"Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger (muggle-born), Draco Malfoy, Mokuba Kaiba, Blaise Zabini, and Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?"

"When I was meditating in History of Magic, I touched it's collective conscience. It seemed more than happy to help us prank the staff...so long as we don't cause permanent damage to the castle itself."

Sirius shamelessly stared at him, then laughed again. It appeared to Harry that the man was regaining quite a bit of coloring every time Harry got him to laugh. Sakura was pleased with his attempts, and then asked Sirius who the Potter's Secret Keeper actually was.

"Peter. We switched to keep the Death Eaters from attacking them. Fat lot of good it did in the end..."

"Uncle Moony said he was an animagus like Dad. A very fat rat with gray coloring."

"With only a claw missing on his right hand. Traitor actually cut it off before blowing up the street and transforming, leaving me with the blame."

"Wait...a gray fat rat with a missing claw? Oh shit...Sirius, he's at Hogwarts!"

Sirius' eyes raised up when Harry cursed, but when he said Hogwarts, he nearly jumped up.

"Chill out Sirius. If he's as cowardly as you say, he won't make a move unless he's absolutely sure that Dumbledork won't get him later. Which gives me an evil idea..." said Sakura with a glint in her eye. Harry started backing away from her when he saw it.

"Mind if I teach Harry how to play high-stakes poker?"

Sirius gave her an evil grin back. Soon the two were plotting, and Harry had a very clear sense of foreboding doom about to befall. He almost felt sorry for the traitor...almost, but not quite.

Right before they finally left, Sakura slipped something onto Sirius' wrist. It glinted silver, and she whispered, "Don't let the idiots who guard you know you have it. You can talk to James and the Dementors won't affect you anymore if you wear it."

Sirius gave her a parting grin, and they left the island.

"You learn how to play poker with Kaiba, and then trick Ron into betting his rat. I put the Shadow Cuffs on him, forcing him to transform back, and we turn him in. Sirius gets freed, he moves in with Remus, and we'll be a big happy family!" said Sakura happily.

XXXXX

Harry challenged Kaiba to a duel, and won. Which prompted Kaiba to tell him that he was entered in the tournament he set up. Harry was happy, even when Kaiba then told him he was also going to help Mokuba referee the tournament when he wasn't dueling.

Harry joined Yugi, who was the first to officially start the tournament off. He took one look at the guy Yami was duelling and said, "What the hell? He's wearing the same get-up as the guy who's been stalking me and Mum!"

"You were being stalked?"

"Yeah...but I lost him in my special place!"

"We'll get some answers when I finish him off. Then Jounouchi can get his Red Eyes back."

Yami won, and defeated Exodia in the process. Jounouchi told him to hold onto the dragon, and went off to duel. Harry stuck with Yugi for two more duels. He even won four while doing so. Harry had a shit-eating grin on his face the whole time. After a while, Harry caught several people violating the rules, and called them on it. He almost got beaten up for his trouble, but Kek saved him. It seemed people were afraid of those who can carry a deadly poisonous snake around their neck and not get bitten handling them.

Harry laughed, and called Mokuba on his new cell phone. Since Kaiba had fixed the magic-does-not-work-with-tech issue, Harry and Remus had a whole new way of talking.

"Mokie here. What's up Harry?"

"I'm off to meditate. It's your turn to boss people around like Percy."

"Kay, call me when you come out!"

* * *

Harry walked to his favorite place, which was two blocks from the apartment. While his room was soundproofed, and had a lock, he realized early on he preferred the pond to meditate. It was so soothing he could slip into a trance very quickly. Another plus, the snake who lived there was highly intelligent.

Harry was about to slip into his usual trance when he heard a light scream. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see a girl with blond hair in pigtails looking at him in horror. Her bear appeared to have fallen from her arms from shock.

"There's a poisonous snake in your lap!" she said in English in horror.

"Ya. He hasn't told me his name yet, but Mum said to just call him Ceres. Can I help you?" asked Harry, annoyed.

"Shouldn't you get away from the snake first?"

"Why? He won't bite me so long as I leave him alone. Besides, he's a lot of fun to talk to! My name's Harry by the way, Harry Hikari."

"Rebecca Hawkins. How do you talk to snakes?"

"I'm a Parselmouth, which means I can talk to any kind of snake. Besides, if you can meditate deep enough, you can hear the voice of nature. That's what uncle Remus says anyway."

"Wouldn't your uncle be worried that you're talking to snakes?"

"Not really. He can talk to them when he turns into a werewolf after all. Besides, it is a natural ability of wizards where I come from...though it is rare to be able to."

"Werewolf? Are you serious?"

"No, he's still in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Besides my name is Harry."

(Thousands of miles away in Azkaban, Sirius sneezes once. He grumbles to himself..._"Great, now I've got a damn cold on top of being in jail!"_)

"So are you really a wizard?"

"Do you believe in magic?"

"After meeting Yugi, a little," Rebecca admitted.

"Good. Then the Ministry won't hound me for revealing that magic is real to a normal person. Magic is all around you, hiding from normal people."

"Prove it."

Harry took out his wand, and said simply, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Rebecca's bear started to float until it was eye level with her. She gasped, and completely forgot about the snake as she took the bear out of the air.

This lead to a lengthly discussion of magic...eventually leading up to Rebecca holding Harry's wand with sparks shooting off of it. Harry had heard from Sakura what to do if that happen when someone held his wand, and grinned.

"Looks like you're a witch! Cool!"

"A witch?" said Rebecca faintly. She was giving him a look.

"Mum said if someone holds a wand and sparks or something random and impossible happens, that they have magic!" explained Harry. He'd seen this before with Yugi, Ryou, Kaiba and Jounouchi. They had held Sakura and Remus' wands and something weird happened. Ever since then, the four had shown up every day to be tutored on how to cast spells by Remus, who was a surprisingly good teacher!

Hedwig flew to his arm, with a note from Sakura.

"Cool, Lunch is ready! Want to join me, Rebecca?"

"Why do you have an owl that delivers notes?" she had to ask.

"British wizards use them instead of e-mail. Completely barmy I know, but I got her as a birthday present. Say hello, Hedwig!"

* * *

Hedwig hooted, then flew off. Harry lead Rebecca to the apartment, where Jounouchi, Ryou and Kaiba were waiting. Yugi came out of the bathroom, and sat down. His eyes widened when he saw Rebecca though.

"Rebecca-chan? What are you doing here? Hiya Harry," said Yugi.

"I was trying to meditate when Rebecca showed up and saw the snake on my lap. Turns out she's an unregistered witch!"

"You let her hold your wand, didn't you?" sighed Jounouchi. He was still in shock that he had magic to begin with.

"Yup."

"By the way, have any of you gotten a letter from a owl?" asked Yugi suddenly.

"What kind of letter?" asked Harry, worried.

"It had this weird seal on it, and even knew which bedroom I had."

"Oh crap...don't tell me that old teme is up to his tricks again!" said Harry, as he took a look at the letter Yugi mentioned.

It was a letter from Hogwarts. Harry started using the language he picked up from Bakura (with his blessings...and to warn him what his mother was saying half the time) and cursed. Yugi and Ryou were surprised, then chalked it up to the Hikari-effect.

"What's up, Hikari?"

"It's a Hogwarts letter. Yugi, tell that conniving old teme that you're going to the Tokyo Academy! If you go to Hogwarts with me and Mokuba, you'll be putting everyone who wears a Millenium Item at risk!"

After Harry had said this, six owls appeared. One headed to Kura, who was passing by, one went to Rebecca, and the others went to Ryou, Kaiba, Jounouchi and Harry. Harry cursed violently, which woke Kek up. The snake immediately attacked the letters, shredding them beyond recognition.

"Harry? What was that about?" asked Remus, coming in.

"Dumbledork is up to his usual tricks. He just sent Yugi, Jounouchi, Kaiba, Rebecca and Kura letters. The last thing they need to start their magical education at Hogwarts!"

Remus looked disturbed, as he saw the letter. He shrugged it off, and asked Kaiba how the tournament was going.

"Very well actually. The turn out was better than I anticipated. Though a good majority seemed to be after the god cards for some reason."

"God cards? Can you give me a description?" said Harry suddenly.

"Better yet, I can show you," said Kaiba as he held out Obelisk. Harry took one look, and was holding back his laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Yugi.

"Mum beat some Death Muncher wanna-be who had a card with the same vibes. She's using it as a bookmark for one of the Icha Icha books!" said Harry, howling with laughter. It took a few minutes for this to sink in, and soon Jounouchi, Bakura, Yami and Kaiba were laughing too.

"Leave it to Hikari to use a powerful card as a bookmark," said Kaiba, calming down.

* * *

After lunch, Kaiba went back to work, Yugi, Jounouchi and Bakura went back to duel, and Remus took Rebecca to get a wand. While they toured the shops, he explained why Harry reacted the way he did, and about the Wizarding world in general.

They got back to the apartment around three, and Rebecca learned of the magic school in America. She used Hedwig to ask them, and got a reply the next day.

_"Dear Ms. Hawkins,_

_Salem Institute for Magic is more than happy to welcome you to our ranks. We will inquire to the Headmaster of Hogwarts as to why he sent a letter to an American citizen. Please give our Alumnai Ms. Kate and Ms. Sakura our regards on their new careers._

_Sincerely,_

_Angela Hawthorn."_

There was a second letter adressed to Sakura. Remus took that, and set it on the table. Sakura came in, saw the letter and opened it. Her grin was more than a little feral when she read it.

_"Dear Ambassador Hikari,_

_We are concerned about the report of the English Ministries corruption. And the fact that no other schools had available space for your younger brother other than Hogwarts. Rest assured we will look into this matter as soon as possible. As for the charges against Albus Dumbledore, we are unable to pursue them due to interference from the Wizangamot._

_International Conferation of Wizards representative,_

_Selene Keith."_

* * *

In another part of the city, on the ocean...

An owl appeared on the mast. A robed figure bearing a staff made of gold with the eye of Horus, walked out onto the deck. The owl hooted, and flew down to him. A letter dropped from it's beak. A second robed man appeared, and opened the letter.

_(Master Marik, what do you make of this?)_

_(What does it say Odion?)_

_(Dear Malik Ishtar,_

_You have been invited to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.)_

_(Bull...there aren't any true wizards anymore. They died out when the Pharoah sealed the shadows.)_

The boat continued on it's journey to the city.

* * *

Yugi found a duelist who apparently had a piercing fetish. He was also possessed by a Millenium Item. Yami appeared and dueled the man. When the other duelist attempted to summon Slifer the Sky dragon, something strange happened. The dragon slithered around Yami, and struck the other duelist, wiping out his life points.

"What the..."

'Pharoah, I am Osiris. Though my collogue holds my card, I will answer your call. Take the false card as your own and I will answer.'

Slifer dove into Yami's deck and vanished. His opponent stood up, and gave a dire warning.

The boat landed in the harbor...and the first Item bearer that the figure meet was Bakura. Due to a strange twist of fate, the two hit it off before either of realized that they both held Items. Which prompted Bakura to take Marik to Sakura.

Sakura took one look at the dark skin Egyptian and said, "SQUEE! He's so kawaii!"

**GLOMP**

(HELP!)

Bakura just watched all this and laughed his ass off. He could hear Ryou chortling in the back of their mind as well. Marik was helpless against the Queen of Weirdness.


	10. Chapter 10

After Marik FINALLY escaped her, he attempted to clock Bakura. Sakura watched this all in amusement...until Tasogare took over.

**_"Stand down NOW. Now why have you come?"_** asked Tasogare.

Marik noticed the immediate change in tone and attitude. Her posture reminded him of royalty, her tone obedience. He fought the urge to bow, and barely won.

"Now you see why I follow her. The Pharaoh just told us what to do. She gains your respect, then commands," said Bakura.

"Who are you?"

**_"I am the Shadow Master of Magic, Hekara. I command all forms of magic in every form. I sense the touch of the Meddler on you. Have you gotten a letter from an owl, young Magus?"_**

Marik looked at her with respect, as he took it out of his pocket and handed it to her.

**_"This man seeks to control forces that would be best left alone. If you went to this school, he would try to force you to do his command."_**

Marik could sense that she was telling the truth. He asked, "What can I do?"

_**"When he arrives to claim you, refuse. He cannot steal your magic if you call on me. Despite what he claims, there are other schools of magic. And we have been training the Thief King, the Priest, and the Pharaoh here already."**_

He thought about it, and accepted her proposal. He would train with the others, after the Battle City Tournament. When they were done, neither the Dark Lord or the English wizards would know what hit them.

* * *

A week after it started, and there were ten finalists.

Kaiba

Yugi

Jounouchi

Marik

Harry

Bakura

Ishizu

Odion

Mai

Kura

The first match was Harry against Bakura. He showed no mercy as he played his new cards. In fifteen turns, Harry played his trump cards.

"I summon the Charming Lily! She boosts the Pronged Magician's attack by 2000! Pronged Magician, attack him directly!"

* * *

Bakura's life points drop to zero. Then it was Yugi versus Kura. Yami barely beat his friend, and he went on. Jounouchi went against Odion, and beat him after the false Ra went against him. Malik was released and went against Mai. She lost, and was about to be sent to the Shadow Realm via the true Ra.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Tasogare cried out as she stood between Mai and the oncoming flame.

The eye of Horus shone bright against her forehead, as her shadow lengthened. Wings black as the night sky and longer than the blimp flexed from behind her, a set of horns appeared from her head, replacing her familiar cat ears. A tail, spiked was whipping out, and settled around the frightened woman shielding her. Finally, her eyes glowed silver shining against the shadows.

**_"Shadows, answer a true master! Begone from this place at once!"_** roared Tasogare. Mai slumped to the ground as her soul was sent to the shadows. Ra vanished from sight as the duel ended. The platform descended, leaving a shaken Malik behind.

"Hikari, what was that about?" shouted Kaiba. He was shocked, to say the least.

"That was a mere sliver of my true form. Sakura knew that she couldn't handle Ra alone, so she gave up complete control over to me long enough to spare Mai from too much torment. Now instead of a cruel stay in the Shadow Realm, it'll only be the usual fare."

Tasogare stepped down, and went inside. Kaiba followed her in, and was surprised to see Sakura crashed on a bed. Apparently using so much Shadow Magic wiped her out. He gently covered her, and went back outside and stepped onto the platform.

* * *

Ishizu was already up there, and the duel started. It looked like she would win, when he beat her in a spectacular turnaround.

Everyone headed inside, and took a break. Jounouchi and Yugi went to Harry to ask something that had been bothering them.

"Hey Harry. Where did you get that Pronged Magician? It looks just like you with brown eyes!" asked Yugi.

"Oh, that was my Otou-san. Prongs was his nickname in school. The Charming Lily is my Okaa-san. They wanted to help me out somehow, so Mum offered to turn them into cards. Now I can summon them whenever I want in the Human Realm!" said Harry happily.

* * *

Honda and Kate were up on the deck, looking for Ryou's Millennium Ring. It bothered them that it went missing after Harry beat him. Hence why they were looking for it now. Suddenly a gust blew them off the deck onto the side. Honda grabbed the railing and was saved by someone with arabic ties and wearing a turban. Kate took one look at the man and freaked out.

Kate started to attack, and was held back by Honda.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Turbans are a sign of EVIL!" pronounced Kate. She got out of his grip and started pounding the man. Harry appeared, and cheered her on.

"GO KATE! BEAT THAT EVIL TURBAN!"

"What's wrong with you two?"

"People who wear turbans are evil, or being controlled by evil. It's a fact of life," explained Harry, as if talking to a particularly slow child...or Jounouchi.

"It's true," said Kate, sitting on top of the man calmly.

He barely managed to get out from under her, and vanished.

* * *

The next day...

Everything was going normally, as the semi-finals was about to start on an island. That is, until the blimp gave a jerk and headed off course. Harry stayed on the boat as Sakura, Yugi, Kate, Mokuba and Kaiba got off to investigate. They came back several hours later looking like hell.

"What happened?" said Harry concerned.

"Apparently Gozaboro's biological son was stuck in a computer (as well as the Big five and the old geezer himself) and they tried to take over our bodies. I managed to send Noah to the Digital World, where Moony and Mummymon came from, so he should be able to get a real body soon. But he almost took over Mokie's body."

"Sounds like I missed all the fun..." complained Harry.

"What, Malik wasn't bothering you at all?"

"Not really. He was bothering Bakura and Kura though. Kura was teaching me how to use the shadow realm while we waited."

Kura looked sheepish, as Sakura gave him a grin. Harry went with Kura and continued what they were doing. By the time they got to the island, The order in which they would duel was set. Harry would be a spare. He would duel last against whoever won the fourth duel.

Joey went against Malik and lost spectacularly. Then Kaiba went against Yugi, and lost. He handed Obelisk to him, and then Yami beat Harry in a neck-to-neck duel. He won by the skin of his teeth, and went up against Malik. Kaiba threw Yugi a card, which he put into his deck without looking. By the third turn, Malik had once again called on the shadows.

Yugi was suspended in the air next to Yami. Marik was unconscious next to Malik. Soon the two gods were glaring at Ra. A mega showdown between god cards...which Sakura felt she had to say something to ruin the serious moment. They're bad for your health.

* * *

"So Kaiba, have you finished teaching Harry how to play high-stakes poker yet?" she asked.

Yami turned to look at her strangely.

"Why are you teaching him how to play? Wasn't humiliating me, Kaiba and Bakura enough for you?"

"Just because your poker face sucks doesn't mean it's a bad idea! It's for a good cause anyway!"

Malik actually laughed at this. The great pharaoh couldn't play poker? That is hilarious! Sakura grinned, relieved. The serious moment was broken for a while. Even Yugi was grinning, remembering how Yami lost to Kate who had a full house that time. And the party...

"Hey Sakura-san, any chance we can have another game like that?"

"After this is all over and done with, Yugi-chan," said Kate.

Yugi narrowly beat Malik, with a lot of help from Odion. As after they took a picture, they went to check on Ryou. Turned out he'd eaten all the food while they were gone. Sakura took one look at the mess and laughed her ass off.

* * *

Back on the mainland...

Sakura got Marik into the high school with Yugi and Kura. Kate squealed when she found out, so Sakura was very glad she'd kept the news secret. Then things went to hell in a hand basket when Kura, Ryou, Yugi, Kaiba, Jounouchi and Marik were all called to the principal's office. They went, reluctantly, and were met with the sight of an old man...who was apparently color blind. Yami, Bakura and Seth took over, and growled collectively. Marik heard this, and made the obvious conclusion.

"You're Dumbledork."

"Dumbledore-san has graciously granted you a full scholarship at his prestigious school in Scotland," said the principal.

"No," said Yami, voicing the others thoughts.

"No what, Muto-san?"

"We don't want to go there. We know full well about the English Ministry, and the age of the first-years at your school. We don't want to get involved in YOUR mess," Yami clarified.

"Besides, we already have tutors on the subjects you teach at that school," said Bakura, smug.

"Muto-san, I've spoken to your grandfather, and he seemed thrilled," started Dumbledore.

"No he didn't. Sakura already spoke to him about your school, and he was very keen on me NOT going. And we are well aware of Harry's situation."

Dumbledore tried each of them, even mentioning that his school was the best place for them and that their magic would be sealed permanently if they didn't go. None of them budged. He left, defeated. They all immediately headed to Sakura's, since the meeting made them miss the rest of the class.

* * *

Sakura took one look and said, "What happened?"

"Dumbledork."

"Ah. I've checked on your Grandfather Yugi, and removed the charm that was placed on him. He's furious, but he'll be fine."

Yugi sat down, relieved. A series of cracks was heard outside. Sakura sent Harry a text telling him to stay at his pond, and for Mokuba not to come over. Remus, upon hearing the cracks, looked out, and ducked back in quickly when he was nearly hit with a stunner. The door was busted down, and Tasogare took over.

"What the bloody hell is the meaning of this?"

"Aurors ma'am. We've had a report of Dark Arts in the area, cast by six unregistered wizards."

"Bullshit. You came because Dumbledore lied to you. These boys don't know any spells that can be qualified as Dark Art. Which ministry are you with?"

"Japanese."

Tasogare gave him a look as she said, "You do realize who's house you've broken into, correct?"

They looked highly confused, and she started to be annoyed.

"This is the home of the American Ambassador to JAPAN. My home. My name is Hikari Sakura."

The man who had spoken to her blanched. Everyone had heard of her. She was the only ambassador that the Japanese ministry liked, mainly because she didn't care about messing with foreign affairs. While she did vote on key issues, she usually stayed out of their way. She was also the only one to get a job in a Japanese company and hold it for a year.

"Sumimasen...We had no idea that you were the Ambassador. I take it these are the boys in question?"

"They are registered magi, at least five of them are. The Egyptian boy with the wild hair hasn't had the paperwork come through yet. But I found them, and have been teaching them magic for weeks now."

This news brought a look of fury onto the Auror's faces. The man had one last question to ask.

"Why did the Headmaster of the English school file a false report?"

"Because I warned them about Dumbledore, and his manipulative ways. Once I informed them of the problems currently plaguing England, they didn't want to go to Hogwarts. Dumbledore is just upset because I out manuevered him. All he wants is power."

The Aurors left, furious.

* * *

The Daily Prophet the next day:

_"Albus Dumbledore banned from Asia!_

_Albus Dumbledore, Chief Wizangamot, Order of Merlin First class, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been formally banned from all Asian countries for crimes against underage wizards. It has been revealed that the Headmaster has commited the following crimes against the island nation of Japan._

_Filing a false Dark Art report_

_Going against the last will of a English Citizen, resulting in trauma_

_Forcing a Japanese minor to attend only one school_

_Deny a minor legal rights_

_Placing a wizard with known Magic hating Muggles_

_Improper use of Legimency_

_Convincing a Wizard family into using a known traitor as Secret Keeper_

_Attempting to force six minors from foreign nations into attending Hogwarts_

_Dumbledore has declined comment, but we at the Daily Prophet will seek the truth! What other crimes has this man commited?"_

* * *

Harry laughed out loud when he saw the article, and passed it around. He was staying at the twin's house, which they called the Burrow. While he thought it was a tad crowded, he had to admit, he liked it.

"It's brilliant! Such a unique shape! I'm sure my Mum would love this place too!"

Harry bunked with the twins, seeing as how he and Ron weren't on speaking terms. They loved it, mainly because Harry let them in on the plan to prank the Welcoming Feast. He brought up the IM board, and soon the plotting began.

XXXXX

**Prongslet:** Everyone on?

**DeviousFae: **Here!

**DragonClaw:** Here.

**Bookworm:** here.

**ZMan:** yo.

**MidoriMaster:** here

**MaraudingPrankster:** this is cool!

**PrankMaster:** Agreed brother of mine.

**LunarGirl:** hello all.

**Prongslet:** Ah good, Luna's joined the group. Everyone, meet Luna Lovegood. Don't let the crazy fool you, she's brilliant.

**DeviousFae:** another Mini-sis then?

**Prongslet:** Exactly!

**ZMan:** I wasn't too sure about this before...but this IM board thing is pretty nifty.

**Prongslet:** before I forget, let me introduce three people near and dear...

**Moony:** Greetings

**Padfoot:** Yay! I officially LOVE muggle tech

**Prongs:** Am I doing this right?

**MaraudingPrankster**: no...it can't be...

**PrankMaster:** The Marauders?

**Prongslet:** Let me introduce my dad, dogfather and uncle/Magical Guardian. Moony is my Guardian, Remus Lupin. Prongs is my dad, James Potter. Don't ask how he's even on, cause I have NO clue. And Padfoot is my Dogfather, Sirius Black...who Sirius-ly needs a bath!

**Padfoot:** lol

Bookworm: isn't Black in Azkaban?

**Prongslet: **Mum slipped him one of her bracelets. She's been sending him mage-tech for months now.

**Prongs:** Now what's this I hear about a prank at the welcoming feast?

**DragonClaw:** You heard right. Any suggestions?

**DeviousFae: **We were going with a pool of ice cream

**Prongs:** why not turn them into animals?

**MidoriMaster:** how? I can barely transfigure a teacup!

**Prongslet:** In that case, we'll leave the banner to you

**ZMan: **What banner?

**Prongslet:** Well what would the point of pranking the entire school be if we didn't claim credit for it?

**Moony:** I hate to admit it, but he has a point.

**Padfoot:** What are you going to turn Dumbledore into?

**Prongslet:** Weasel is out...as is a dog...

**Bookworm:** How about a snake? After all, Dumbledore doesn't really like Slytherin house, does he?

**Prongslet:** He doesn't like Slytherin at all. But a snake is out. How about a slug?

**LunarGirl:** what about a spider?

**MidoriMaster**: that actually sounds good. Dumbledore likes to manipulate people a lot, doesn't he?

**Prongs:** and Snape?

**Prongslet: **How about a badger?

**DragonClaw:** McGonagall should turn into a snake, Flitwick a lion and Sprout a raven.

**ZMan: **I love it. The heads of house change into an animal from another house.

**Padfoot:** I dare say you lot are brilliant.

**PrankMaster**: what about the tables?

**Prongslet:** how about we turn everyone, including ourselves into the colors of their least favorite house? For example, Ron would turn Green and silver.

**MaraudingPrankster:** We can help with that. And if we add our new Canary Creams into the mix, it'll be a blast!

**Padfoot:** Canary Creams?

**PrankMaster:** If you eat one, you turn into a giant canary for five minutes.

**Padfoot:** what I wouldn't give to have you two during our school days. Could you imagine the pranks we could have come up with?

**Prongs:** I can only imagine...Dumbledore the Canary! rotfl

Moony: oh dear...

**Prongslet:** I think we've created a monster...

XXXXX

"Alright Harry, before you go back to school I have one last assignment for you. You know how Kate and I train with swords right?"

"Kate uses a Chinese Jian sword, and you use a katana now."

"Yeah, the tiger hook swords wouldn't cooperate with me, no matter how many hours I put in. Anyway, your assignment is this. I want you to either find a sword or weapon that suits you, and begin your weapons training."

"Why don't you use a gun?"

"Too noisy for my taste."

"So what sort of weapon should I choose?"

"It depends on you. If you show a preference to projectiles, such as guns or arrows, or close range weapons, like a knife or dagger, I can get you someone to teach you how to defend yourself using your chosen weapon."

"What about the others?"

"If your friends show an interest in weapons, and need help with their training, I will assist them."

Sakura took Harry, Yugi, Malik, Mokuba, Kaiba, and Jounouchi to Diagon alley to get supplies. Yugi understood why she didn't bring Ryou or Kura when he saw the bank's poem. Their eyes widened when they saw the goblins.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Kaiba wish to make a withdraw. Malik, Yugi and Jounouchi you stay here. The last thing you lot need is a ride in the cart."

Seto looked highly ill as the cart barreled through the tunnels. Mokuba and Harry cheered as they loved the feel of the wind. Sakura laughed at the look on Seto's face, and enjoyed the ride thoroughly.

* * *

After Harry retrieved his gold, he thought of something.

"Did my father's family have any weapons stored in any of the vaults?"

"There are only two swords that belong to the Noble house of Potter. One, the sword of Godric Gryffindor, has been lost for many centuries."

"And the other?"

"Hmm...if your companions can tolerate a second ride, I will show you to a vault that has yet to be used by any of the Potter family in almost a millenia."

"Why is it unused?" asked Sakura.

"I believe the family did not wish to spill any of their precious Pure Blood. The vault requires one of the bloodline to open it by spilling a minor amount of blood."

"That explains a lot..."

XXXXX

Harry stood before a door, rusted with age and neglect. Sakura had to ask, "Does he have to apply the blood directly, or can a knife be used?"

"A knife is permissible. I believe that was how the vault was originally sealed as well."

Sakura handed Harry a knife with a sharp edge and a butterfly etched on the blade. Harry flipped it open, and cut lightly into his palm. He pressed the blade to the door. To everyone's collective shock, especially Harry's, a light shone from him and hit the door.

"A child of Light...that explains so much," murmured Sakura.

The goblin looked shaken, and lead the boy inside. A ancient sword, simple in it's design, hung from the wall. It had several rust stains, especially along the blade. Harry walked up to it, and lightly touched the hilt.

The sword dropped into his hands, the rust falling away en masse. The blade shone with an unnatural light, and sang when Harry moved. It seemed to fit perfectly with Harry in every way, as if it were an extension of Harry's body. The goblin found the sheathe and handed it to him. Harry checked, as Sakura had taught him, and then placed the sword in it. He then made sure the sword would come out easily, without snagging just in case.

Harry and Mokuba then went into Flourish and Blotts, where they met up with the Weasly clan and Hermione Granger. Neville joined them with his grandmother, who looked at Harry's sword with silent disapproval.

"Madam Longbottom, it is a pleasure to meet you. Harry and Mokuba has told me great things about Neville and his natural gift with plants. He practically tutors them in herbology, and has even helped the Malfoy heir with his homework," said Sakura respectfully.

Augusta Longbottom lost quite a bit of her disapproval, and started to like the young witch.

"Indeed. Neville has told me some things about you, including how his study group came to his aid against an adult mountain troll."

Harry walked up to her, and after sparing a glance to Mrs. Weasly and her husband, said to the woman, "I've often thought that Neville acts more like a Gryffindor than Ronald Weasly upon occasion."

Neville blushed a bit at the praise. It was common knowledge to the Gryffindors that Harry was the heir of their house.

"Is there any reason for the sword?"

"As the heir to the Noble house of Potter, I thought it would be a good idea to teach Harry how to wield a sword. His assignment before returning to school was to find one that would suit him best to begin his training."

Madam Longbottom looked at her in approval. They went back into the store, and were swamped due to the book signing.

Sakura gave an unladylike snort when she saw who it was. Madam Longbottom gave her a look.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is a fraud with good teeth. As Harry's magical guardian is a werewolf, he would naturally know of a hex which would reverse the transformation. Also, some of the events that he claimed to have witnessed happened when he was an infant," Sakura explained.

Hermione heard this, and was visibly upset. When Lockhart saw Harry, he attempted to drag him for a photo-op. Harry promptly used a few tricks Jounouchi had taught him and broke the man's in-step. Lockhart collapsed, whimpering, and the signing was immediately canceled. Sakura bought the books that were required, and they were about to leave when Lucius caused a problem. Draco stood aside, looking highly embarrassed to be related to the man. He alone spotted what his father did after the man started a fight with the Weasly Patriarch.

Hagrid separated the two, and Lucius left alone. Draco was going to return with Mokuba, having already cleared the sleepover with his mother. (Whom Lucius would never dare cross. Mainly due to the last time he tried he ended up in the Malfoy Mausoleum for two weeks without bathroom breaks.) Draco walked up to Ginny and pulled something from her cauldron.

"Did any of you buy this for her?"

They seemed highly surprized by the book, and he handed it to Sakura. Her cat ears switched to panther mode instantly when she touched it. She hissed violently, and her eyes narrowed to slits.

"What's wrong mum?"

"This book is Death. It must be destroyed promptly!"

This declaration startled them for a reason, as she was a major bookworm who advocated the care of books, and often got on to them about treating their tomes with utmost respect.

When Harry and the others returned, they immediately went with her to see how she would get rid of the book.

"Harry I will most likely need your help with this..."


	11. Chapter 11

Harry looked at her in confusion. Why would she need his help? She had a 15,000 year old spirit to power her!

"Harry remember that sword you got out of that old vault? Do you remember what the name inscribed on the blade was?"

Harry drew the blade, and looked. It was an old writing, one he couldn't actually read the text. He briefly thought about handing it to her so she could read it, but something told him he wasn't allowed to. So he held it to the light, and she read it aloud.

"Caliburn? Where have I heard that name before? Anyway, let's start your weapons training now. I want you to try and cut this book in half. Whatever power it holds, I believe it may undo the Dark Magic on this book."

Harry held the sword high, and prepared to strike it at the heart. He didn't notice the light gathering around the blade, as he struck the book. A cruel scream erupted, and a shadow passed through him. He cried out in pain, and passed out.

* * *

He awoke an hour later, with his head in Sakura's lap.

"You alright, Har-bear?"

"What was that?"

"I sensed a darkness in that book. Turns out it was a Horcrux. A dark magic created to tear a soul apart and place a portion of the caster's soul into an object. Only a truly evil person would use it, as it requires the death of another."

"Voldemort."

"Bingo! I looked up the owner of that book. Tom Marvolo Riddle. An anagram of his name is 'I am Lord Voldemort', which is beyond ridiculous."

"Where's the sword?"

"I told them to leave it alone until you woke up. I don't think it would have been a good idea for anyone but you to touch it."

"Why?"

"Because I finally recognized the aura it gave off when you first held it. That thing is radiating Holy Aura, and a lot of it. Took me a while to identify it."

"Holy Aura?" asked Mokuba.

"Certain items radiate aura from the Divine Realm. Certain beings dwell there, and are often classified as 'Holy' by mortals. Hence the name Holy Aura. Now that sword has been either wielded or created by a high class denizen of the Divine, which is why Harry is the only one who can touch it."

"Why him?" asked Yugi.

"Well...you might be able to touch it with the Millennium Puzzle off for a week, but Harry is the only one it's accepted to weild it. If anyone else tried the repercussions would be disastrous."

"Why?" asked Draco.

"Because both Yugi and Harry are Children of Light. Yugi's light was too pure, so the gods sent him the puzzle, to even out his aura. Harry has that curse scar, which evens him out. Since the sword dropped into Harry's hands, it will only allow him to wield it," Sakura explained.

"So what kind of sword is it?"

"I've heard of the name 'Caliburn' before, but I'm going to have to get back to you on that. Anyway, I think we should look into that scar and your bloodline. Maybe your ancestry can give me a clue as to what that sword is."

Harry willingly gave her a minor amount of blood to work with, and they separated for the day. Harry stayed with Lupin, as Sakura had warned them that the spell required she not be disturbed.

XXXXX

_"Oh spirits of the divine,_

_Send me a vision of this child's past,_

_Tell me of his ancestor's line,_

_Of times forgotten and lost._

_I offer this blood,_

_To seek wisdom,_

_To see through this veil of Time_

_And find what was once thought gone._

_Send me a sign of his heritage,_

_Through the ages unto the first Mage_

_So that I may lead this Child of Light to his Destiny."_

Sakura stood in the circle with inter crossing Egyptian runes. She poured Harry's blood in a complete circuit, and close the barrier. The pentagram lit up, and the blood began to swirl around her. The parchment that was prepared specifically for this spell was already beginning to fill up, the blood writing the names in a cohesive pattern.

Harry's name, and his father's were the first, followed by many generations of the Potter family. When the spell finally ended, the design on the floor was gone, and the blood was completely used up writing the necessary information. She frowned, as she didn't think it would use up all the blood. Then she read through the tree. When she saw how far it went, she gasped in shock.

"Merlin? Aeria Pendragon? You've got to be joking!"

Upon hearing her surprised voice, Lupin silently entered. He was relieved to find that the spell was a success...blood runes were tricky at the best of times. She handed him the parchment, still in shock. He almost dropped the parchment himself when he saw the last names.

"This makes no sense. Merlin had no children that we know of, and Arthur only had a child with his half-sister!"

Sakura gave him a look as she said, "Ah, but they were men, remember? Even the greatest wizard has certain needs. Who's to say that the child wasn't an illegitimate heir? It would make sense in way."

Lupin was still in shock.

"How accurate is this?"

"I had to use both Harry's blood, which the spell required to be freely given, and sent in a request to the divine. Which guarantees a hundred percent accuracy with results. Not to mention that since Harry was confirmed as a child of Light, the request actually went through for a change."

Harry woke up to find his new sword poking him. Annoyed, he placed it back into the sheathe, and went to eat breakfast. To make matters worse, the sword seemed to have a permanent sticking charm on it, which made sitting awkward to say the least. He resisted the urge to growl at the sword, only just.

* * *

When Harry went to the pond for one last time to meditate, he finally managed to get the sword off. The snake curled up in his lap as per usual, though it did give the sword a strange look. Harry was about to fall into his usual clear-minded state when he felt a distinct pain on the side of his head. He opened his eyes barely to find the sword hitting him on the head! He finally growled at it.

"Look, either let me meditate or I'll stick you back in the vault!"

Harry could sense a presence in the sword, as it clearly said back, "I'd like to see you try!"

"I could always go with a katana you know. Besides, Mum said my sword training wasn't for another two hours!"

The sword had other ideas. Harry recognized the will to attack, and dove to the side. The snake was highly annoyed at the sword at this point. It slithered into Harry's hand, and transformed into a katana. It clearly wanted payback for ruining it's nap.

For an hour and a half Harry/Ceres sparred with the sword. When Harry sagged to the ground, it dropped an inch into the dirt, stuck. Ceres went back to sleep on a rock, tired. Harry pulled the sword out, and thanked the snake for it's help. He went back to the apartment, exhausted.

"Pup, what happened?" asked Remus, worried.

"This blasted sword thought it would be funny to ruin my afternoon meditation! I had to use Ceres to fend it off for almost two hours!"

"The sword attacked you?" asked Sakura, surprised.

"I could tell it could understand me, and I informed it that I wasn't going to have sword practice until after my meditation. It had other ideas."

"This 'Caliburn' is becoming a problem. If it won't let you meditate the usual way, then I'll just have to teach you the active one."

"Active?"

"Clearing all thought while moving. Not easy to master, but it makes battling an opponent who's trying to rile you up easier. If I have the sword's permission, I'll show you how."

Harry mentally reached out, and told her, "It approves of the idea. Said I'm not going to sit around for two hours in the middle of the day on it's watch."

This prompted Sakura to laugh, as she took Harry into another room. She threw him a bokuto in the shape of his new sword, and proceeded to show him how to meditate while moving. It took him four hours, but he finally got the hang of it.

XXXXX

"The trains leaves at any moment!" yelled Sakura, hurrying Mokuba and Harry. The sword, which was being a major pain that morning, had been securely locked up in Harry's trunk with a spell to keep it quiet.

Right before they could cross the barrier, they felt a nasty rebound. Sakura cursed violently, and saw the time.

"We missed it! What the bloody hell happened?"

"I believe it was that ruddy house-elf that visited me last week," said Harry sourly. He saw the spell holding the sword quiet had fallen, and it was beginning to make a racket.

'Pipe down! The last thing I need is to be thrown in the dungeons for carrying a sword! People don't carry weapons these days, especially 12 year olds!'

Sakura took out Hedwig and owled Snape about the problem. She also informed him that they would be at the Leaky Cauldron until someone came to get the boys.

An hour later...

The Floo spat out a harried Snape and McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Kaiba, why are you not on the train?" said Snape.

"The portal was blocked somehow and we couldn't get on in time. We suspect a random house-elf is to blame," Sakura informed them, annoyed.

"Why did you not stay at the station then?" asked McGonagall.

Harry showed them the sword, which was making a racket again.

"Didn't want the muggles to see this and panic. Mum wanted me to learn how to use a sword properly, and this is the one I ended up with," explained Harry, irritated.

"And why did you not leave it at home then?" said Snape, annoyed.

"The blasted thing seems to have a sticking charm, and won't leave me alone. It was either tie it up and put it in my trunk or have it attacking me when I got home. Either way, it's a bloody headache!" Harry practically growled.

Snape sighed, and took them through the floo. Both of them went straight to their houses and put their things up. Harry immediately claimed the bed facing away from the window, and went down to the library. He ran into Mokuba, who had the same idea he did. He then opened up the IM, and typed:

* * *

**Pronglet:** Anyone on?

**Bookworm:**! HARRY! Where the bloody hell happened to you?

**Prongslet:** Damn barrier was blocked. Mokuba and I had to wait at the Leaky Cauldron for Snape and McGonagall to rescue us.

**ZMan:** Why was the barrier blocked?

**DeviousFae:** we suspect this random house-elf. he came to Harry last week with a warning of dire things about to happen at Hogwarts.

**DragonClaw:** This house-elf have a name?

**Prongslet:** Said his name was Dobby, but wouldn't say which family. He did say that old Moldy-Shorts wasn't involved

**DragonClaw:** Did you say Dobby? Did he have a towel for clothes and a penchant for pain?

**Prongslet**: don't tell me he's...

**DragonClaw:** I wonder why he was at your house though. I know for a fact that none of use sent him there.

**Prongslet:** what are you going to do?

**DragonClaw:** father will probably either free him after putting him through torture or kill him. Knowing him, probably the latter... T-T

**Bookworm: **That's is barbaric!

**DeviousFae:** think he'd be willing to sell this Dobby to sis? It would kill two birds with one stone.

**Prongslet: **he did say he wanted to be freed...

**DragonClaw: **I'll see what I can do. I'm fairly sure Father would be persuaded if she offered around 500 Galleons, but don't qoute me on that.

**Prongslet:** thx for the tip. Now, on to another matter...Are we still on for the feast?

**MidoriMaster:** you bet. I have the spell down for the banner.

**LunarGirl:** I wonder which house I'll be in

**DragonClaw:** with your intelligence, most likely mine. I'll try to keep the other Claw's from bothering you about the Quibbler.

**Prongslet:** speaking of houses, who wants to bet on the youngest Weasley?

**DeviousFae: **oh please, everyone knows that family is all Gryffindors!

**PrankingMaster**: I'll bet two galleons on that

**MaraudingPrankster:** Me too.

**ZMan:** I'll bet three on any house BUT Gryffindor.

**Prongslet:** that reminds me, ZMan, watch out when you get into the dorm tonight. I picked up this bloody sword from Gringotts with a mind of it's own. Warn our dorm mates if you see them.

**DragonClaw:** Is this that same sword with the glowing problem?

**Prongslet:** According to the Goblins, the vault I got it from was one of the original ones. And it hasn't been opened once since that thing was sealed in there...so Mum suspects it's been absorbing magic all this time...**sweat drop**

**Bookworm:** that sword you had in the bookstore?

**Prongslet:** If you want Bookworm, you can help me with a project mum gave me while we were waiting for Snape.

**Bookworm:** what kind of project?

**Prongslet:** She's heard of this sword before, but she can't remember where. She wants us to find out what this sword is, and what it can do. The biggest clue we have is that it radiates a lot of divine power for some reason

**Bookworm:** that sounds fascinating! Count me in!

**DragonClaw:** me as well.

**MidoriMaster: **I'm in

**ZMan:** Why not.

**PrankingMaster:** wish we could help

**MaraudingPrankster:** but we have homework issues.

**DeviousFae:** that's alright guys. We'll draft you if we need help sneaking into the Restricted Section

**Prongslet:** we'll see you at the Feast. Remember everyone, causing this chaos is fun as long as we don't get caught!

**DeviousFae:** that reminds me, what about the code names? I mean Prongslet and Bookworm are very obvious.

**Bookworm:** let's do this later, we need to change. TTYL!

XXXXX

After the sorting, (Which Blaise actually won when Ginny was put into Slytherin for some reason...) Harry and the others put their plan into action when Dumbledore finished his speech. Soon there was a spider the size of an Acromantula in Dumbledore's seat, a large badger in Snape, an anaconda in McGonagall's chair, a raven in place of Sprout, and a lion twice Flitwick's size! The other teachers turned into random animals, including Hagrid (who was turned into a rather convincing platypus thanks to Luna's suggestion). Then all the houses changed into the colors of their known rivals. Gryffindors turned green and silver, Slytherins red and gold, Hufflepuffs blue and grey and so on.

The shock was instantaneous, and when Dumbledore changed back, a banner unfurled above him proclaiming: **"We welcome all the newbies and the returning students to a new year! We hope you enjoyed the show, as it's just the beginning. Love, The Marauding ANBU."**

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur, as several of the teachers attempted to figure out WHO the perpetrators were. Meanwhile, Harry and the others were completing their new masks.

"What do you think?" said Harry, holding up a rather convincing werewolf mask. (He had a lot of help from Remus on that one.)

Hermione tried on her cat mask while Draco put the finishing touches on his raven. Mokuba had his mini-Blue Eyes ready, while Blaise had a crow. Neville choose a squirrel, to the amusement of the others, while Luna brought out her own design, which she explained was a Thestral. It fit with the theme, so they let it drop. The twins showed up with matching fox masks, after hearing tales of the Japanese kitsune.

"Alright, Fred, your codename is FoxFoot and George is FoxMoon."

"Why FoxFoot?" asked Hermione.

"Fox is obvious, but the last bit is in tribute to the Marauders."

"How so?" asked George.

"Foot as in PADFoot, and Moon as in MOONy."

The twins seemed to like the idea, and went with it. Soon they had a new set of names, and were ready to restart the prank war on Dumbledore...that is, until they had their first lesson with Lockhart anyway.

After helping the Gryffindors retrieve the ever annoying pixies, Harry growled.

"I think we should adjust our plan to get rid of him. That was a load of bull he just put us through!"

Draco seemed to be in agreement, after spending a lesson with him as well. When Harry saw the look on Snape's face however, he had a brillant idea.

* * *

"Come in."

"Professor, I have an idea you may enjoy. It involves making Lockhart's days a living nightmare."

"Continue Potter...or should I say Hikari now?"

"For the sake of Dumbledork's precious sanity let's continue with Potter for now. I'm sure you remember the Marauders?"

"How could I forget? Your father and his lackeys made my school-life a living hell. Your mother was the only one who would stand up for me."

Harry frowned, but continued.

"Well I've started my own pranking gang, and you've seen the effects at the welcoming feast. Sorry about the badger bit by the way."

"You're the one who turned him into a spider?"

"It suited him fine. He does like to manipulate people like a spider. Anyway, I was wondering if you interested in joining our little group."

Snape seemed highly surprised by the invitation.

"Why should I join this group?"

"You join and we keep out of your way if you have a sensitive potion going on. And you'd be relatively safe from our pranks."

"Is there any particular reason for wanting to draft me?"

"At least two off the top of my head. First, while Draco and Hermione are okay with potions, it would be a better idea to draft a master."

"And the other?"

Harry looked a bit sheepish, "Well Mum told me to find out more about the sword we got out of the Gringotts vault. She recognized the name Caliburn, but she can't remember where. If you were on the team, it would make it easier, just in case we have to raid the restricted section."

Snape was impressed that the boy had thought this out. He knew full well if he had approached any of the other professors, he would have been given a years worth of detention at least. Not to mention higher scrutiny from the headmaster. The boy's logic was as sound as a Ravenclaw.

"Fine. I'll assist you, but don't count me in on any of the pranks...unless it's McGonagall or Dumbledore."

Harry's answering grin reminded Snape of a goblin's for some reason. He dismissed the boy, and continued his usual routine.

XXXXX

"YOU WHAT?" said Neville aghast.

"I drafted Snape to help us. Look, it was either that, or avoid him whenever we raided the restricted section. He's a master Legilimins, which means eventually he would have busted us for it."

"Basically he's a cover story, right?" said Hermione.

"Exactly. He's a grouch, but at least now he's on OUR side, which will make things infinitely easier on our end."

"So what's first on our plan to get rid of Lockhart?"

"Dumbledore's candy stash. ALL of it. We move it to Lockhart's office, with a note written by you Neko, claiming to be from a fangirl. He takes the bait and the rap for stealing it."

"Fine. But I still want his autograph."

"Knock yourself out. Even if he is a fraud."

"He is not a FRAUD. What about the books?"

"He faked them. Several of the things that happened were before his time, and that bit about the werewolf hex? Complete and utter bullshit. Not to mention that mummy bit was ridiculous. He was on the wrong freaking continent."

"Peru has mummies!"

"Not the kind he was describing. He's an idiot who will get us killed."

"What can we do?"

"Maybe Snape will let us start a club to teach people how to duel properly."

Hermione seemed to light up at the suggestion. Harry feared he'd created another monster...

XXXXX

"AAAARRGH!"

Snape ran to the noise, and was startled to see Dumbledore crying out in rage. The door to the infamous stash of candy was open, the room bare of everything. Snape hid a smirk, as he had a good idea who was responsible. He had his occulmency shields up to max to keep Dumbledore happy.

The next morning was highly eventful as Lockhart mentioned a mysterious admirer leaving a mound of candy in his office. Dumbledore's eyes flashed at the mention of the rather large bags of Lemon Drops, and he knew where the candy had gone.


	12. Chapter 12

The Halloween Feast came and went, this time with several people in on the costume fun. Snape decided to have a bit of fun this time, and came to the feast dressed as a vampire, much to Harry and McGonagall's amusement. Draco came in as a raven, with a skull in his 'claws'. Hermione chose a twin-tailed cat, based off the legends Sakura sent Draco. Neville chose a racoon-dog, Blaise a wolf. The twins showed up as nine-tailed foxes (Sakura had sent them a bunch of Naruto manga, and they were thoroughly in love with it) and Harry came in as a Basilisk.

"Where did you come up with such a realistic costume, Harry?" asked Ginny. (Was dressed as a Gypsy.)

"I found this huge one underneath Myrtle's bathroom. It agreed to follow my orders, and is now in my protection bracelet. But the chamber I found it in was damp and boring."

What really surprised everyone was when McGonagall showed up, dressed as a lioness! Hagrid was dressed as a viking, after Sakura had found an outfit in his size and sent it to him. Mokuba was an elf with wings, having no idea what to wear. Sprout and Flitwick were dressed up as well. Sprout chose a badger, while Flitwick chose to be a dwarf, battle-axe and all. Luna came in with the oddest costume, as a Thestral.

Everyone who wasn't dressed up openly gawked at them. Harry smirked, and asked those who got in the spirit to wait until a picture was taken.

_(The second Sirius saw Snape as a Vampire he started howling with laughter. Remus asked what he was laughing about and Sirius replied, "I always knew he was a blood-sucker!")_

* * *

Things were becoming routine, until the announcement of a dueling club arrived. Harry looked annoyed, but still showed up. Sure enough, Lockhart was responsible. Harry was thrilled to see Snape up there, as it meant that Lockhart was screwed. After the speech, Lockhart attempted to use the disarming charm, only to be thrown back by Snape's spell. The annoyed Potion's Master was given a standing ovation by a majority of the students, especially Harry and his crew.

Lockhart paired Ron and Harry up, and soon the two were avoiding the other's spells. Finally, Ron used a rare spell as he cried "Serpensortia!"

Harry walked up to the snake and held out his arm. The snake slithered up and curled around his neck. Everyone gaped at him, so he shrugged.

"Snakes like me for some reason. Experiamus!"

Ron walked away, furious. Soon it became clear that those who trained with Snape were better at dueling. Lockhart's stupidity won them a lot of converts.

* * *

Everything went normally, as the ANBU continued to prank Dumdledore and leave the blame on Lockhart. Things really turned interesting when Luna stumbled upon the man's diary.

The Quibbler ran the diary, and publicly humiliated him. Which prompted his attack on Ravenclaw. Things steadily grew worse for him after that.

Finally, Christmas arrived, and Harry was thrilled. His first Christmas with a family, and he couldn't wait! Mokuba was coming as well, and they were already packed.

Harry sat on the train with Mokuba, Neville and Draco, who was invited to join them. The Weaslys were staying at Hogwarts, with the exception of Ginny, who had been alienated by Ron and Percy since becoming a Slytherin. She was spending the holiday with the Bulstrodes, after becoming good friends with Millicent and Melissa.

Harry was met at the station by a man who obviously had no say in his outfit. He looked like a girl! Yet the man was still grinning like a loon, as he hugged Harry and Mokuba tightly.

"Who tricked you?" Mokuba had to ask, laughing.

"Your good sister told me I had to play against her to pick you up. Winner got to pick you up, but the loser chose the outfit and transportation."

"And she let you win?" said Harry, incredulous.

"I cheated. And she didn't call me on it."

"That's because it wasn't a Shadow Game. Anyway, she took plenty of pictures for Snape. Which is her gift to him for keeping her and Remus up-to-date on his doings," Kura informed him. Sirius grimaced, but wisely kept his trap shut.

Draco and Neville went with them through the Shadow Realm, and were amazed at the sights. Harry and Mokuba, having been in the Battle City finals, weren't as impressed. (Kind of hard to be, after seeing Marik send Ra after Mai, and Tasogare turn into a partial dragon to stop it.)

Harry showed them the apartments. Neville and Draco were staying with Mokuba, though the adult party still happened, as they were staying with Kate and Bakura. It was a full-blown party with Sirius and Malik, with Remus trying like hell to keep them away from the firewhiskey, to everyone's amusement. (Bakura kept giving it to them behind the werewolf's back, and Kate only encouraged it.)

The Pronged Magician and Charming Lily (James and Lily) made an appearance and the party got even wilder. (Despite Snape showing up at Sakura's approval.)

Sakura walked in with Seto, and all eyes were on her. She smirked at Sirius, Remus, Snape, Bakura, Yugi and James' gobsmacked expression. It seemed her dress had that effect on males. Lily and Kate both collectively hit their boyfriend/husband on the head, causing Sakura to laugh. The party lasted for hours, and a few went to bed. Draco and Neville were the first to fall asleep, and were given the spare rooms in Sirius and Remus' apartments.

Harry nodded off an hour after them, and was put to bed by Snape. Lily and James left after that, (though not before James hexed Sirius' hair pink). Sirius and Remus came back, and they moved the party to Ryou's place, where they played Poker until five in the morning. Snape it turned out, had the best poker face, as he managed to win Sirius, Remus and Yami's clothes off, to his immense amusement.

Kate kept giving him the thumbs up, thoroughly enjoying it all. Bakura and Marik both loved the fact that the Pharaoh sucked at poker, and both vowed to never let him live it down.

* * *

Due to the party *and the firewhiskey* Seto stayed at Sakura's house. Bakura and Kura both fell asleep on the same bed, and were snoring the day away. The next morning, the presents were handed out.

Draco: Another Weasly sweater, two new books on Ancient legends, muggle pranks, a mini dragon-animated, a few structure decks of Duel Monsters, a book of potions and a sudoku program for his laptop. (Not to mention various things from his parents.)

Mokuba: book of fairy tales, duel monsters cards, potions ingredients, Weasly sweater, wand holster, pranks, random gifts, butterbeer, and chocolate

Harry: pranks, cards, chocolate, sweater, ingredients, manga, a movie projector for his laptop and several dvds

Neville: plants, pranks, herbology guides intermediate to master, chocolate, how-to on poker, and other random things

Sirius: hair dye, dog collar, dog biscuits, a book on how to train a dog, *you can see where this is going, lol*

Remus: a full set of Underworld movies, American Werewolf in London, doggy biscuits, a book on wolves, The Werewolf's Guide to Life (a manual for the newly bitten) **THIS IS AN ACTUAL BOOK!**, *and again, you get the picture, lol*

Bakura: knives, pointy objects, a book on poisons, cards, invisibility potions, pranks

Kura: knives, sword, wand holster, potions manual, lock picks

Sakura: manga, dvds, books, potions ingredients, and, as payback for last year, a kiss from Seto Kaiba

Seto: blue-eyes boxers, cards, new deck holster, black duster coat random gifts. **In general, they just gave him anything with Blue Eyes. He wasn't complaining.**

Kate spent the Christmas with Yugi, who was blushing like mad after she nailed him under the mistletoe. Sakura was still laughing at the look on his face. By the time they returned to Hogwarts, they were in for a shock. Apparently, there had been an attack on several students. They were in the Hospital Wing petrified.

Harry went to the hospital wing and found Hermione, frozen. When he heard the word petrified, he began to suspect something. But his temper flared when he heard the rumors that he was the Heir of Slytherin, despite it being well known that he was Gryffindor's heir! After a week of suspicious looks, glares and whispering behind his back, he had enough.

"Get everyone in the Great Hall at five. It think it's time to clear things up," Harry told Snape, irritated.

OXOXOX

Harry looked around, and sighed. The hall was almost full...even that idiot Lockhart was there.

"Alright, seeing as how anyone who was going to show up is here, let me get started. First off, I'm not the heir of Slytherin. I may be in his house, but my views on Muggle-borns and muggles are different. Second, Hermione Granger is a good friend of mine, and I would never allow someone to harm her. Third, and this is most important, I am GRYFFINDOR'S heir! I may speak to snakes, but that does not make me evil."

The uproar mad Harry's head hurt, so he took one question at a time.

"How can we be sure you're telling the truth?" demanded a Hufflepuff seventh year.

"Because the heir of Slytherin is old Moldy-shorts. And he framed Hagrid for the last time it was open. His original name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, which as any Ravenclaw could point out is an anagram of 'I am Lord Voldemort'."

Quite a few Ravenclaws worked this out, and found out he was right. They eagerly waited for him to continue.

"Where were you over the holidays?" demanded Dumbledore, furious his soon-to-be-Dark-Lord wasn't under his thumb.

"With my Mum and Magical Guardian as anyone can tell you. Anyway why would I set the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets against one of my friends? Not that Lilith can kill anyone anymore..."

"Who is this Lillith?" said Dumbledore.

"Lillith, come out!" cried Harry, as his bracelet grew well past Hagrid's size, and lengthen past the tables.

A snake, close to ninety feet long, and twenty feet wide, blinked. It instinctively slithered up to Harry ,and curled around him. It's scales were pure silver, it's eyes were a emerald green, matching Harry's. It hissed, and looked at Dumbledore with clear disdain.

"Everyone, meet the monster of the Chamber of Secrets. Her name is Lillith, the basilisk. And before you ask, I am quite sure that this is a female serpent."

Quite a few of the students fainted, as did Lockhart. Harry chuckled darkly, "She no longer has the ability to kill with a glance, Mum took that away immediately after I placed her body in my protection bracelet."

Lillith hissed, and Harry translated.

"If anyone wants to know more about her breed, feel free to ask."

At that, the Ravenclaws swarmed, and began asking questions. Soon Harry's little announcement turned into a ask and tell session about snakes and basilisks. Harry was more than happy to answer, and it appeared to ease everyone's concerns about the attack. It also served another purpose, as the other houses began to look at Slytherins with a great deal less animosity.

Needless to say, the other Slytherins were shocked at the change. As a result, Harry was regarded by the Slytherins as their 'Prince'. Originally they deferred to Draco, but the other boy really didn't give a damn about the change.

* * *

_Dumbledore could sense something change within Hogwarts. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but now he knew the cause. Harry bloody Potter._

_First he creates that blasted group to harass him (oh yes, he knew it was the boy. He just assumed that he would create a group much like his father did...) Then he somehow gains the monster of Slytherin. It was bad enough that Argus actually started to LIKE the boy...the squib originally had an animosity towards all students, so how the boy managed to gain him as an ally was beyond comprehension!_

_Then the boy bridged the gap between Severus and his father's old friends. How, he had no idea. And Pettigrew! That bloody traitor was to remain hidden until next year, now the man was in Azkaban and Sirius bloody Black was free...and permanently out of his grasp. He had hoped after Black was freed, the man would at least attempt to claim the brat, but no, he sides with the interfering harlot!_

_How he was going to remedy this catastrophe was beyond him._

* * *

Harry found it amusing that somehow, the Slytherins found out that he was in fact the descendant of Merlin as well as being the Heir of Gryffindor. But the information leak did do something good...previous Dark families were now claiming loyalty to him. Apparently being the Heir of Slytherin was nothing compared to Merlin's heir. But what would he do with his new followers?

One thing he knew for sure...he wasn't going to turn into another Voldemort. For one, the man thought too small in terms of power. He went after an infant because of some vague prophecy, and got his ass kicked by the same infant. Second, he was fairly sure that Dumbledore was behind Riddle's original attack on Hogwarts. Harry had checked the library thoroughly, and he knew that Tom Riddle would never have found the entrance without help from the meddling professor.

As Harry sat down to meditate as usual (Caliburn had grudgingly allowed Harry to meditate during the day, provided he did sword-practice first) when he sensed that something was off. He silently probed the castle as to what was wrong, and gained a vision of Dumbledore's office.

**(VISION BREAK)**

**"I must gain control of that boy! He is far too willful for his own good! But how am I to break him? That blasted sword he carries won't let me near him! Unless...of course, I shall use the pawn already in place. A few love potions should turn the boy to my will."**

**Fawkes looked at Dumbledore in annoyance. This was the man he was bonded too? If he kept this up then he would be forced to enact the long-lost art of ritual breaking for Phoenixes. It would be costly...he would age twice as fast until he bonded again, but it may be the only way to snap his bonded out of the darkness.**

**"I suppose that I will be forced to make the potions alone...Severus is clearly fond of the brat...despite his hatred of his father. Though how the boy changed his mind before he even stepped into Hogwarts..."**

**Fawkes trilled as if to speak.**

**"Now Fawkes, this is all for the Greater Good. Harry must follow my lead if Riddle is to be defeated."**

**'Then he will become the new Dark Lord, and raise my power to it's peak!'**

**(VISION BREAK)**

Harry's eyes snapped open, and he cursed violently in Egyptian. Several Ancient Runes students looked at him in awe.

Harry went onto the IM board and sent an alert to the entire ANBU. As it's unofficial leader, they generally answered. Immediately, the board sounded off as they signed in.

**Prongslet: **We have a serious problem.

**DeviousFae:** It has to be if you're not mocking your dog-father's name.

**HeadofSnakes:** What is wrong?

**Prongslet:** Dumbledork intends to make me a Dark Lord. He also intends to put me under his control through love potions and a pawn in Slytherin.

**MaraudingPrankster:** Ginny!

**PrankMaster: **We knew something was up

**MaraudingPrankster:** Ginny is more of a Gryffindor than Ron

**PrankMaster:** so it was a shock when the hat placed her in your house.

**Bookworm:** It would make sense if Dumbledore intends to use her to get to you

**Prongslet:** Are there any antidotes to love potions?

**HeadofSnakes:** none so far. Besides, there are far too many of those bloody things to create an antidote for them all.

**Prongslet:** I'm sensing a 'but'

**HeadofSnakes:** But there are no records of a bezoar being used to counteract them.

**Bookworm:** didn't you mention those last year?

**HeadofSnakes:** twenty points to Gryffindor. You are correct Bookworm, I asked Prongslet about them first lesson.

_((Elsewhere in the castle, Gryffindor gained twenty points for no reason. Students were mystified as class wasn't in session at the time.))_

**ZMan:** How do you know Dumbledork intends to use you?

**Prongslet:** the castle was on edge. I asked what was up and it gave me a vision of Dumbledore's office. I also found out that if he continues like this, he'll lose Fawkes.

**DragonClaw:** this is serious. If his phoenix is willing to leave him then he really must be going dark.

**Bookworm:** how bad is it that Fawkes wants to leave him?

**DragonClaw: **Phoenixes generally stick to Light-sided wizards...but there have been rare cases when they will leave their bonded wizard. Doing that makes them age twice as fast, and they lost their ability to return from the dead

**MidoriMaster:** which means Dumbledore should really take a step back and look at his plans for you. If his own phoenix is willing to leave him, then he may be lost permanently.

**Prongslet:** I also have some interesting news for you HeadofSnakes

**HeadofSnakes:** ?

**Prongslet:** Dumbledork is going to make the potion himself, if he follows through with his plan. According to him, you are too fond of me to be trusted.

_((Snape snorted at his laptop. Fond was NOT the word he would have used at all. Tolerated was more like it.))_

**DeviousFae:** so what should we do?

**Prongslet:** Mum mentioned going back to Gringotts...and seeing if there are any other vaults that have been forgotten that I would have access to.

* * *

The potion was ready...though the coloring was off. And the smell was horrendous. Dumbledore was reminded why he usually let Severus make the potions...

"So if I use this, Harry will fall in love with me?" asked the pawn.

"Indeed. Now remember, he must follow your every whim. Then he can be turned back to the light."

The pawn clearly knew something, so he pressed her for details.

"It's just...I don't think this will work. Especially not against Harry."

"Why is that my dear? Do you not think your crush will like you?"

"No...it's just that Harry is..." she started, only to have her mouth close and absolutely refuse to open. Dumbledore looked in surprise. Apparently someone had cast the Fidelius charm on any valuable information on Harry. Why, he had no clue.

* * *

Harry saw the strange coloration on his food, and secretly placed the bezoar that Snape had given him in his mouth. He then took a bite of food, and felt something strange. At first, he felt sick, then the stone kicked in, and he spit out the food. Harry pushed his food away, clearly disgusted. He placed his hand over his mouth and took the stone out.

"Something wrong Harry?" asked Blaise.

"It seems Dumbledork Sirius-ly can't brew a potion properly."

"You mean...?"

"It seems that Snape was correct...though I am very glad he has a store of bezoars...otherwise I'd be in the hospital wing getting my stomach pumped."

Blaise, Harry and Draco walked up to Snape and told him what happened. He was furious, and he clearly wanted to go to the Headmaster and give him a piece of his mind.

"Professor, don't. If the headmaster finds out I was clued into his plan, he may try again, and actually kill me. Instead, let's play along...until we can find a proper replacement."

"Hikari, I want you to keep that bezoar. Use it at every meal until Dumbledore is removed."

"Yes sir!" said Harry, who had planned to do that anyway.

* * *

DADA was a joke. It was clear Lockhart had no clue what he was doing. So Harry encouraged his housemates and the Gryffindors to actively humiliate him. Apparently his disdain for the professor was wide-spread, as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined in. It was during the end of year exams that the man suffered a breakdown, and attempted to obliviate Harry. Caliburn reflected the spell, and the man was sent to St. Mungo's permanent ward.

Hermione was happy that Harry stood up for her, and helped him with his exams. Much to the collective shock of the group, Crabbe and Goyle passed the exams with more than an Acceptable. It seemed that their influence was good on the two.

The only downside was that Harry had to continue using the bezoar for two months. He was thoroughly relieved when the Leaving Feast was over, and had his trunk packed. He went to return the stone to Snape, only to be pleasantly surprised when the Potions Master told it was his now. He was also surprised when he left the train, and saw Yugi with Dobby and Kate. He raised an eyebrow to the elf, who immediately began thanking him. Kate laughed and explained what happened.

"Sakura gave Lucius 500 galleons to buy Dobby off him, and he accepted. Apparently he was trying to find a way to get rid of him without losing face. Also, Yugi got a pet while you were at school."

The ANBU looked in shock as a familiar red and gold bird flew to Yugi's arm, and trilled. Harry's jaw dropped as he said incredulously, "Fawkes?"

Yugi looked at him surprised.

"How did you know his name?"

"He was Dumbledork's pet phoenix! How did you get him?" said Hermione in a mild shriek.

"I woke up and found him tapping at the window. He looked thirsty, so I let him rest and he never left. I didn't know he belonged to the Headmaster thou."

"It seems Fawkes has had enough of Dumbledore's manipulations. Which means he's gone completely to the Dark," said Draco, shocked.

They left the platform, and went home.

XXXXX

"WELCOME BACK HARRY AND MOKIE!" proclaimed the banner. The party was on, and didn't dissipate until three in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

"Welcome back, Master Potter," said Griphook.

"Greetings Master Griphook," replied Harry in Goblin. Griphook seemed surprised, but shrugged.

"My son seems to have a knack for languages. So I suggested that he learn Goblin," said Sakura.

((Which was true, Harry now knew at least ten languages besides English, Japanese and Parsletoungue.))

"What brings you here?"

"I was curious to know if there were any other forgotten vaults that I have access to."

Griphook seemed to think for a moment, before replying, "There is only ONE that you have access to other than the trust vault. But there is a warning on it, saying to only be opened at time of great need."

Harry thought it over, and decided to wait to see it. He refilled his bag, and they went on a shopping spree. He bought two Auror-class trunks, one for him and one for Mokuba. They both held a compartment completely for books, potions and clothes. And seeing as how the two were building a library of their own, it would come in handy. He decided to wait for school supplies, as he knew for a fact Bakura would nick them.

XXXXX

"Hikari, I want you in my office now."

"What is it sir?"

"I've been looking into your records, and it seems you've never taken a vacation in the three years you've been here. Over twenty sick days, but no vacations."

"Never saw the need. Everyday out of the States is a vacation in my opinion."

"Hikari, I'm ordering you to take a vacation. Take one with Harry and the others...and if you want to do me a favor...drag Yugi with you. PLEASE."

"You're holding another tournament?"

"Yes, and I would prefer it not have the crazies again."

"Fine...this is a paid vacation, isn't it? How long?"

"Until Mokie has to return to the nightmare school. After finding out about that headmaster, I want one of the others to join him."

"Fine. Which one? Kura, Bakura or Marik? Kate would murder me in my sleep if I sent Yugi."

"Which is the most insane? And in chronological order PLEASE."

"At top is Bakura, followed closely by Marik. Kura is only slightly psychotic."

"Send Marik then."

"Can I go now?"

"Don't let the idiots drive you insane."

XXXXX

"WE'RE GOING ON VACATION!" announced Sakura as soon as she entered the door.

Sirius, Harry and Remus looked at her...normally she wasn't this loud. She grinned, and repeated her announcement.

"We're going on vacation. Kaiba was surprised to find that in three years I've never taken a vacation. So he said I had too. Plus, I'm getting paid to go...so long as I drag Yugi and Kate with me. We'll return before you and Mokie have to go back."

"Which means we get like, a few months or even years..." grinned Kate, who had caught the tail end of the vacation bit.

At the three confused looks, Sakura explained.

"Kate here is the reincarnation of Kebi. The Shadow Master of Time. But last time I checked, she went by Fukanya now. Aki is Shadow Master of Space...which means we'll need her help for the travel plans I have in mind..."

Aki turned, and gave her a look.

"Where is it EXACTLY that you want to go? If you recall we had that little issue with our passports a week after portalling here!"

"Ah, but where do you think my Anime-infested mind will take them?" she grinned, pointed to the others.

Aki's eyes widened in comprehension. She snorted, and said "Bring me back their autographs...or I WILL have your head!"

"Including the traitor's?"

Aki gave her a look.

"Right. Well, everyone get packed and let your next of kin. We're off on vacation!"

* * *

The village was huge, and surrounded by a mountain with faces on it, of all things. People wearing animal masks stopped them, and she reported to the village leader.

"Hello Sarutobi! Long time no see!" Sakura said cheerfully.

The old man puffed away, clearly surprised to see her.

"I assume you want your old apartment."

"And one near it. My friend and her boyfriend will definitely need their own. No way am I listening to those two play..."

Kate and Yugi blushed furiously. Sirius and Remus looked at them in surprise...while Harry filed it away for future blackmail.

Sakura lead them to an old apartment, which was apparently painted blue this time. She grinned, and knocked on a door. A blond boy with whiskers answered.

"Hello...Aunty Sakura! When did you get back?"

"Hey runt. I just got back, and I'll be staying for a while. How have you been runt?"

"Everyone ignores me as usual. How's Aki?"

"She's fine...though she threatened to murder me if I don't get Kakashi and Iruka's autograph. By the way, this is Kate, her boyfriend Yugi, Sirius, Remus and my adopted son Harry."

Naruto looked at her...and grinned wolfishly.

"Care to help me prank the ANBU again?"

* * *

At that, Sirius grinned evilly. Sakura showed Kate and Yugi their apartment, and then walked in on Sirius and Remus helping Naruto plan a very devious prank involving dungbombs, of all things. She grinned, and knew the two would love it here.

"GET BACK HERE YOU BRAT!" roared a masked ninja. Naruto grinned as he evaded with practiced ease. He vanished, and popped back into his apartment, where Sirius was waiting.

"How did it go?"

Naruto smirked, and said "They never saw it coming. How long does that smell last by the way?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter as he replied, "Long enough! Sakura-chan said that you were welcome to join us for dinner."

Naruto went with him next door, and had fun for the first time in months. Sirius was like a fun older brother, with Remus to keep him honest. Harry was like a brother too, only he seemed more like Naruto. Sakura grinned the entire time, and asked him how he was.

* * *

The next day, Naruto walked into class, his head held high. Sasuke groaned.

"She's back, isn't she?"

"Yup...and she brought others."

Sasuke's interest was peaked.

"Others?"

"Apparently she adopted a kid. I think he's like me though. Anyway, the kid's godfather and uncle moved in near her, and she brought them and her friend's along."

"Not Aki I hope."

"Nope. Though Aki told her to get Iruka-sensei's autograph."

Sasuke snorted. But he did ask about her new kid.

"Everyone settle down! Now as a few of you are aware, One of our jounin has returned to the village. Her name is Hikari Sakura, and she'll be teaching you lot a few things about weapons."

* * *

A brown haired menace walked in, followed closely by a black haired boy around their age. The boy had glasses, a rarety even in Konoha, and his hair had the same color as Sasuke. It appeared Naruto was right, the boy had the same air as Naruto used to have.

Sakura grinned, and introduced the boy. Immediately the Sasuke-fan-girls started squealing. It seemed they had a new target to latch onto. Sasuke pitied the boy now. He was doomed.

Emrys, the boy called himself, sat between Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke looked to him, and said, "You do realize that you're doomed, right?"

Emrys looked surprised.

"This room is full of fangirls. Seems they've abandoned me to latch onto you."

Emrys smirked, "Too bad I'm used to them. Mum is a fangirl too!"

"So is Emrys your real name?"

"Hell no. Mum said I could change it if I wanted, so I did. Originally it was Harry Potter."

Emrys sat with them, and learned with them. He seemed to find it highly interesting. When they stepped outside to eat lunch, Emrys cursed violently. A sword was attacking without an owner!

"Dammit Caliburn, knock it off! I thought I left you behind!"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at him. He KNEW this sword?

"Damn magic sword..."

"Um, Emrys?"

"I found out that my ancestors had an enchanted sword, so Mum made me learn how to use it. Unfortunately, it seems to enjoy attacking me during the lunchtime hours."

Naruto dragged Emrys to his favorite restaurant, and wasn't surprised in the least to see his Aunt there. She told the owner she would pay for Naruto and Emrys bowls, to the blonds clear delight. Soon the three were devouring the ramen, though Naruto clearly had a bottomless stomach for the noodles. Emrys stared as Naruto consumed no less than THIRTY bowls...each bigger than the boy's head!

Naruto was so stuffed afterwards that Sakura carried him back. Emrys went off to learn how to throw shuriken and kunai properly, with Sasuke's help. Meanwhile, Sakura stalked down Iruka.

"How has the runt been?"

"He's still hated...though his pranks have gotten better. He missed you something fierce though."

"Poor thing. How are his clones?"

"They're so pathetic its sad."

"I'll help him with those. After all, he'll need that skill to graduate."

Iruka turned to leave, and Sakura remembered something.

"Oh, before I forget, Aki wants your autograph. Apparently she's a fangirl of you and Kakashi Hatake."

Iruka choked at the thought, and gave her a scroll with his signature. He did NOT want Aki after him...the last person who annoyed her said she was worse than Ibiki in a foul mood!

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning, and prayed to any Kami who would listen that his Aunt really was back, and that Emrys was real. He always wanted someone who didn't pity him...or look at him with hate in their eyes for a friend.

A knock was heard, and Naruto reluctantly answered. A boy with the wildest hair he'd ever seen said sheepishly, "Sakura-chan said breakfast was ready, and if you don't get up then she'd sneak a hundred veggies in your eggs."

Naruto knew he was gaping, and didn't care.

"Is that hair real?"

The boy laughed, and replied, "Yup. My names Yugi, and the grinning loon behind me is my girlfriend Kate. Come on, Sakura's eggs get worse when cold!"

Naruto rushed to Sakura's apartment **which was next door. Sakura always laughed when Naruto told people he had her for a neighbor. Something about people mentioning craziness...** and entered. A big black dog appeared out of nowhere and tackled him, covering him in slobber.

"Twinkletoes, knock it off or no breakfast!" yelled Sakura.

The dog gave her a clear look of betrayal. Emrys saw it, and started laughing. Remus walked in, saw the scene, and took a wild guess as to the cause. He grumbled about being too early and no caffeine.

* * *

The dog heads to the coffee maker *brand new, Sakura bought it for Remus and Sirius only. Hard-core tea drinker!~* and pushes the button.

Naruto sat down with Emrys, and they ate, joking about the day. They headed to class, and Emrys immediately tapped a stick to his ears and Naruto's. When they entered the room, Naruto heard a muffled squel!

Emrys tapped Naruto's ear again, and he could hear perfectly. He gave the other boy a questioning look.

"Silencing charm. It muffles out the fangirl squels. Dead useful when Sakura and Kate are having an all night anime marathon."

Naruto grinned, and they took their seats next to Sasuke. He got the full brunt of the shrieks, and was now wincing with every sound made. Emrys took pity on him, and tapped his ears with a stick. The sound immediately muffles, and Sasuke gives him a grateful look.

The lesson goes as planned, and afterwards, Emrys drags Sasuke to the local BBQ restaurant. Naruto joins them, and Sasuke decides to ask Emrys about his school.

"Boring...and highly annoying. The guy who runs the place wants me to turn into the equivalent of a Nuke-nin here and go on a killing spree. So naturally me and my friends prank him almost daily."

"What do you call yourselves?" asked Naruto.

"The Marauding ANBU. I'm Wolf. My friend Hermione is Nekomata, Draco is Raven, Blaise is Crow, Neville is Squirrel, Luna is Thestral, Mokuba is Dragon and the twins are FoxMoon and FoxFoot."

Naruto looked excited... "Can I be part of your group?"

"Sure. What animal do you like best?"

Naruto thought a bit.

"Fox. Or toads."

Emrys grinned, "Squirrel has a toad named Trevor, and from what Mokuba tells me, it's always trying to escape."

* * *

They talked for quite a bit, and Sasuke was invited to breakfast with them in the mornings. Much to his surprise, he found Emrys to be a fantastic cook! Soon Sasuke and Naruto were bringing bento boxes made by Emrys, who grinned like a loon. Girls swooned and boys swarmed. Seems they heard about his skills.

Emrys waited for Naruto and the final exam. This was his third time, so Sakura had taken him in for special training. Naruto had the clones down pat. As did Emrys. Emrys loved the Shadow Clone for it's practical use. Now he could get his homework done in half the time!

Naruto walked out with a smirk, his head held high. He crowed in triumph, as he held out his new headband. Emrys congratulated his brother, and joined Sasuke. The three ate at Ichiraku's, and were joined by Sakura and Sirius. He was proud of his pup, for not only did he pass the exam with the second highest overall score, he did it in six months!

Naruto looked up to Sirius, and Sasuke to Remus. As far as the two were concerned, they were family, blood or no. That night, Mizuki attempted to steal the Forbidden Scroll. Only to be stopped by Sirius and Sakura.

The third Hokage met the two, and decided that as fully trained wizards, they would be considered honorary Ninja of Konoha. Which meant they would be allowed to accompany Emrys on missions outside the village. Sakura watched Sirius wander around as a dog, and had an idea.

* * *

"What can I do for you, Panther-san?" asked Kakashi.

"Two things. One, I need to borrow Pakkun for about a month."

"And the other?"

"Aki happens to be your fan. She wants an autograph. I've already gotten Iruka's."

Kakashi was a bit surprised to find Aki was a part of his fan club, so he gave Sakura the signature. He then summoned Pakkun, who went with her.

"Welcome home, Sakura! Who's that you got there?" said Sirius.

"Meet Pakkun. I had a brilliant idea concerning you and Remus. As you know, you two are honorary Leaf nin. However, what you didn't know is that they can summon animals to aid them...like Pakkun here."

"Yo," said Pakkun, raising a paw.

Sirius' eyes raised a bit, and she grinned.

"Summons can talk...some of them anyway. Pakkun will show you how to act like a summoned dog, which would give you the ability to fool enemy nin outside the village."

Sirius grinned. She was giving him the perfect chance to help his godson in this world. Who was he to deny such a chance?

"So when do we start, sensei?" he grinned. Pakkun gave him the doggy equivalent of a smirk.

OoOoOo

Remus walked in, and stopped to a dead halt. He sniffed, and said "Where's Sirius? He isn't off with Naruto pranking the ANBU again is he?"

"I wish. I sent him off to train with Pakkun. You'll be joining him when Moony comes out to play."

"Moony wants to know what you have planned for us."

Remus and his werewolf form seemed to have come to a truce about certain subjects. Harry, Sakura, their surrogate clan, and anything Sakura had planned. Moony seemed to know who the leader of their pack was.

Sakura grinned, and explained about summoned animals. Interested, the werewolf decides to join Sirius early, to protect his pup...and the pack.

* * *

Two months since Team 7 was formed, Naruto, Sasuke and Emrys were fed up. Sakura, the only female in the group, was regarded with a great deal of jealousy by the rabid fangirls. That is, until she had her fantasy handed back to her by Emrys for not pulling her weight. Even Sasuke was annoyed with the girl. So when they had a C rank mission, they begged to keep her there for re-training.

No such luck.

Tazuna the bridge builder. A drunk who didn't put much faith in their team. So naturally, Naruto tried to liven things up. They were told to meet at the gates the next day, and to pack light.

Emrys told his family about the mission, and was given two scrolls. One had a full moon emblazed on it, the other had a familiar paw print. He gave them a questioning look.

"Padfoot will accompany you as a summon animal. Moony will stand-by as a secondary summon. The moon is Remus, Paw is Sirius. If anyone asks, Kakashi showed you how to do it."

Emrys smiled widely, happy that his godfather and guardian would come with him. Naruto looked thrilled, as the two would keep them alive.

"Emrys, tell Kakashi that I heard rumors of some nuke-nin operating in the Land of Waves. Zabuza of the Mist has been reported in that area, as have the Demon Brothers. Keep an eye out, and don't let your guard down."

"Hai!"

Sakura handed Naruto and Sasuke scolls as well. Naruto had a Sakura flower, Sasuke a star.

"Naruto, your scroll summons my panther form, Sasuke your's summons Tasogare in her true form. Use them only when you truly need it. Emrys can summon Moony and Padfoot easily, but yours cost blood during battle. Got it?"

They gave her a salute.

"Hai!"

A grim-like hound walked in step with Emrys, grinning. His tail wagged as Naruto approached, and did his best not to jump him and lick him to death. He contained his urge barely. Kakashi hid his grin at the sight, as he figured this was the one Sakura wanted Pakkun to train.

They left Konoha, upbeat but on guard. Emrys had warned Kakashi of the reports, and the Copy Nin heeded them. When they passed a puddle, Emrys drew his weapon. Naruto, Sasuke and Padfoot sensed this, and prepared for battle. Only Sakura was oblivious.

Clang! A crash of metal on metal, as Emrys blocked the claws of the nuke-nin. Naruto goes to Tazuna, Padfoot as well, hackles drawn. He knew how to fight as a dog, and was prepared to protect his pack. Sasuke fought alongside Emrys, as they parried the Demon Brother's assault. Caliburn, sensing battle, appeared in Emrys' hand as he calmly held his own. Sakura screamed, in shock, before coming to her senses and standing next to Naruto, kunai drawn.

Finally, Kakashi stepped in, and captured them. Emrys stayed alert, until Kakashi gave them the order to stand down. Emrys could sense Caliburn's joy, as it's master passed the test of true battle of blade on blade.

"Seems Panther's information was correct. And you have some explaining to do, Tazuna."

In the end, they continued on. Padfoot scouted ahead, with Kakashi's blessing. He knew about Sirius, and though the animagus didn't possess as strong as a real dog, he could still wander around unnoticed...so long as he acted like an actual dog. (He silently thanked Pakkun for showing the man how to act properly.)

They boarded the boat with no problems, though Emrys did flinch at how loud Sakura was being. Naruto at least whistled quietly at the sight of the bridge.

Sakura, determined to prove herself after the disaster with the nuke-nin, threw her kunai at a random bush. A strange cry was heard, and Emrys investigated. Sakura had nearly impaled a white rabbit! His silently chided the girl. Padfoot growled, and he went immediately on alert. Caliburn appeared in his hand, and the boys took note. Immediately they took battle positions, and ducked when they heard the whistle of a blade flying overhead.

They all ducked, though Kakashi had to push Sakura down. Immedaitely, they took positions around the client. A chuckle is heard, and the missing nin called Zabuza appeared. He gave a silent approval to the boys, who at least acted like a proper ninja. The girl...was a lost cause. Kakashi revealed his Sharigan, and Sasuke explained it to the others. The battle between nuke nin and Copy nin began with a bang!


End file.
